


The New Hire

by lanieloveu



Category: Fifty Shades of Grey - All Media Types
Genre: Drama, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-24 19:50:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 38,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6164728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanieloveu/pseuds/lanieloveu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anastasia Steele has captured the attention of Christian Grey and she is not at all happy about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading

Disclaimer: The Fifty Shades of Grey Characters used in this story (The New Hire) belong to E.L. James. With the exception of Coping Together and GEH which belongs to E.L. James, the charities,organizations, and companies mentioned in this story are not based on real buisnesses and any similarites are purely coincidental.

 

The New Hire

Chapter 1

Ana's POV

Wanda, my VW Beetle, and I are rushing through traffic. I've waited two weeks to get a call back for this interview. You would think I could make it on time. But just my luck, Wanda wouldn't start this morning. Thank God for Jose, who managed to get her going again.

I made it without a moment to spare. Now I just need to find parking. I circle the building once and luck is with me today, because I see a space open up right in front. The space is tight, but I think I can fit my car in.

Just as I get the tail end of her in the space, Crazy Wanda's gas pedal sticks and I end up ramming the car parked behind me.

Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!

I get out of Wanda to assess the damage and it's bad. Her whole back end is smashed in.

I can't believe it, it was just a little tap.

I look at the other car.

And double crap, it is an expensive car. A very old expensive looking car.

I do my best not to faint dead away at what I know it must cost to fix it.

But it's just a little dent, maybe it won't cost that much to fix.

The driver gets out.

Gosh, he is gorgeous. He is dressed in black jeans and a white button down shirt. But what gets my attention is how the sun bounces off his cooper colored hair.

"Are you all right," he asks with a mix of concern and anger.

"Yes, I am so sorry about your car," I tell him. "I'll pay to fix it of course."

"How?" He says looking at me and then at my beat up car that is Wanda. "I hope you have insurance."

Oh kill me now.

I hang my head in shame

"You have got to be kidding me," he says totally pissed off and no longer trying to hide it.

"But I can pay for the damage. I have a job interview in this building," I tell him pointing to GEH. I look at my cell phone. "I'm going to be late for my interview if I don't hurry in."

"You have an interview with GEH today," he asks, surprised."As what?"

"As an intern. I know it doesn't pay much, but I'm sure we can work something out," I tell him. "Please, if I don't go in, I won't make it on time. I really want to make a good impression. I'll give you all of my information when I come back out. You have my word on it."

I look behind him when I notice a tall well dressed man with a buzz cut rushing out of the office building.

"Oh this is just great," he says following my stare and seeing the man walking toward us with a worried expression.

"Is that your boss? Oh crap. Don't worry I'll talk to him," I tell him.

He looks back at me and frowns.

"Mr. Gr.." his boss starts but I jump in to keep his driver from getting in trouble.

"Sir, this was totally my fault. I know it looks like your driver hit me, but I was trying to park and my gas pedal got stuck. I couldn't stop my car. I'm sure he is an excellent driver. He has been nothing but professional with me. You are very lucky to have him."

The boss looks at his driver who just shakes his head.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to get inside," I say checking my phone for the time. "I have an interview for… Oh crap, it's not with you is it?" I ask the driver's boss.

"No ma'am." He reassures me.

Oh Thank God! How horrible would that have been to run into the boss's car!

Christian's POV

She has no idea who the fuck I am. How the hell do you interview for a company of this size and not bother to do research. I need to find out who the fuck called this one in for the position. She is loopy as all hell.

She just ruined a 1956 vintage Bentley. Looking at her drab, bargain basement outfit, and that junk heap she calls a car, there is no fucking way she can afford to fix it. Not that I really need her to anyway.

And what the fuck does she mean her gas pedal got stuck? Her crazy ass is going to kill somebody, if not herself.

Then to add insult to injury, she thinks Jason Taylor, my head of security, is my boss!

Granted I'm not dressed in my usual business attire, but damn, a little research would have saved her from what I'm sure is going to be an embarrassment, if she would stop yapping long enough so that we may correct her.

Taylor looks at me for direction and I shake my head for him to leave her be.

I'm in the mood to have a little fun with this.

"Excuse me Miss...," I wait for her to give me her name.

"Steele," she says "Ana Steele.

I notice that she is barely glancing up when she talks. I have yet to look her in the eye.

"Well Miss Steele, we wouldn't want you to be late for your interview. I happen to know who you're going to be speaking with today, so why don't I walk you to your potential boss's office." I tell her.

No way in hell I'm hiring this train wreck.

"Oh that is so kind of you. Thank you so much," she says as she walks with me.

I walk her in passed the front desk, to my personal elevator. No one's called me by my name, but I'm sure Miss Steele wouldn't pick up on it anyway.

I push the button and we wait for my elevator to descend from the top floor.

"So Miss. Steele, what made you want to work for GEH," I ask her to make small talk and ease my boredom.

I really should just send her on her way. I have way too much work waiting for me today. 

"Well it's kind of a silly reason to want to work for a company such as this, but it's because of its charity work," she says.

Well fuck, I stand corrected. She has done some research. Interesting how that's what she would discover. She had to dig deep. It's not like we advertise that at all.

I'm actually impressed.

The elevator pings and I place my hand on the small of her back to guide her in.

"Fuck," I say under my breath after receiving one hell of a shock from her.

"Are you alright," she says turning to look at me in the elevator, clearly hearing me.

I turn to apologize for my cursing and fuck me when she's finally still enough for me to look at her. Her eyes! How the fuck didn't I notice them before. They are the purest and the lightest of blue. They are mesmerizing.

"I'm fine," I tell her. "Just a little shock. I apologize for cursing."

"No harm done," she says looking down at her hands and shying away from my stare.

This is not good. She is acting much too submissive.

I watch her as she takes her delicate hand and tucks a loose strand of her dark brown hair behind her pale ear.

Why didn't I notice all of this before? My God she is beautiful.

I have to shift a little to adjust my pants.

What's taking this elevator so damn long to get us to the top floor?

It finally pings and the doors open. I lead her out. I nod good morning to Andrea as Miss Steele and I head to my office.

"Have a seat Miss Steele," I tell her pointing to one of the chairs that sit facing my desk.

"Thank you...oh I don't even know your name," she says to me.

"Christian Grey. I am the owner and CEO," I tell her sitting down behind my desk.

"You are the owner? I see, I'm terribly sorry I've wasted your time," she says getting up to leave, obviously feeling very embarrassed.

"Where are you going? I thought you wanted an interview," I ask her.

What am I doing? I should let her leave.

"I did. I do, but I'm sure I've lost all chances of getting the job now, seeing as how I just plowed into the CEO of the company with my car," she says.

"Normally that would be the case, wouldn't it," I tell her, finally seeing some humor in this little fuckup.

Andrea enters the office with my morning coffee.

"Andrea, did you schedule Miss. Steele here to interview today," I ask her.

"Yes, sir," she says, "she's on your schedule for this morning. She was suppose to interview for the internship, but since you ordered me to fire Olivia, I was hoping to replace her with Miss. Steele."

"No, that's impossible," I tell her. "Just keep Olivia. I don't want Miss Steele in that position."

"I'm afraid the internship was already given to someone else," She tells me.

"That's fine," I tell her. "I'm sure if she qualifies, we can find her another position in the company."

She sits there unfazed, while we talk about her like she's not even in the room.

"Oh, her resume is very impressive," Andrea tells me. "It should be on top of the pile there on your desk along with the drug test, NDA, and background check."

I grab it and eagerly look it over.

"References," I ask Andréa as I glance through the paperwork.

"Yes, sir and you should take note of one reference in particular," Andréa answers me smugly.

I flip through to the reference questionnaire.

"Her work ethic is exemplary. She is a consummate professional. The rapport she has developed with my benefactors has become a crucial part in their willingness to render financial aid. I call upon her assistance yearly and she never fails to make my charity event for Coping Together a success. Dr. Grace Trevelyan–Grey."

Fucking hell, she knows my mother! She helps with Coping Together? Why have I never seen this girl before?

I turn back and quickly look over her resume.

This woman is a paragon of goodness. All of her time is spent in charity work. She has dabbled in finance, fundraising, advertisement, entertainment, public relations and the list goes on. This has got to be some kind of joke. This mousy little shy thing has done all of this.

But what sticks out are the organizations she's given her time to: Feed Our Hungry World Wide, Grandmother's House Foundation, Disaster Corps, and Coping Together.

I have to find out more about her.

"Thank you, Andrea," I dismiss her.

"Tell me, Miss. Steele, you mentioned wanting to work for GEH because of our charity work. It's obvious to me that you researched the company, yet you didn't know who I was. Why is that," I ask her

"Well Mr. Grey, I did indeed research you company, but found your website was not the most informative, so that's why I didn't know who you were. I have worked with a number of charities and I have found that this company is a key benefactor to all of them, giving, not only monetary support, but any essential resources that we request for at any given time. GEH always goes above and beyond what ever is asked," she says confidently.

"Take Hurricane Hilda for example," she continues. "Disaster Corps called upon its benefactors to give support. GEH not only gave a substantial amount of money, but also helped with the overwhelming demands we were faced with when it came to the shipments of food, water, and medical supplies."

Mousy and shy my ass!

"You seem to give a great deal of yourself to charity work? Are these causes close to your heart," I ask.

Giving this much of herself can only come from firsthand knowledge of what it's like to be in need. That is the main reason GEH is involved. The four years of my life I spent hungry, changed me immensely.

"Yes very close to my heart," Is all she gives away.

"Well, I see no reason why it can't continue on here. You can internship with GEH Help for the Hungry also known as Triple H," I tell her. "Among other things we fund agricultural research programs."

"I would love to be involved with that Sir, thank you very much," she says brightly.

I watch in awe as her face lights up.

The word, sir, coming from her lips puts me off balance momentarily.

I need to get her out of here.

I buzz for Andrea to come back in.

"Walk her down to human resources and have Joansie find her a place in Triple H," I tell Andrea.

"We still haven't discussed the accident from earlier," Miss Steele reminds me.

"You're working here now, Miss. Steele, it isn't like I won't ever see you again," I tell her.

I make a phone call to Joansie, telling him how much to pay her. I also tell him to issue her a company car along with her blackberry and laptop. There is no way in hell she will be driving that death trap any longer.

I tell him to hold off on firing Olivia's incompetent ass and to make sure Miss Steele receives his speech on keeping all things she hears confidential.

I look over her paperwork, but I know there is only one way I'm going to get down to who she really is. Why I care I don't know. Chalk it up to simple curiosity.

"Mother," I call her on my blackberry. "How about we have lunch today?"


	2. The New Hire

Chapter 2

Christian's POV

"Mother, how are you? How's dad?" I kiss her in greeting as I join her at the table.

"We are both very well, dear," she says. "I must say this is quite a treat seeing you in the middle of a work day."

"Have you ordered yet," I ask her.

"Yes, I've ordered us the house specials," she says. "So, anything exciting going on in your life? How's work going?"

"Well, now that you've mentioned it, I have a very interesting new hire by the name of Anastasia Steele," I tell her.

"Oh how wonderful, this is excellent news," she says clapping her hands discreetly in delight. "She is a darling girl, isn't she?"

"Mother, if you two have worked together on your charities, why doesn't she know who I am," I ask her.

"She knows I have a son by the name of Christian, but when she expressed interest in GEH, I didn't tell her that my son was the CEO. I knew she would not pursue a position if she knew my son owned the company. She doesn't want to use our friendship in that way. I barely convinced her to put me down as a reference. Did you see what I wrote?"

"Yes, mother. Very high praise coming from you," I tell her truthfully.

"Every word is true. Did you tell her I was your mother," she asks.

"No, but I'm sure she's worked it all out by now. She's a very smart girl, surprisingly."

"Surprisingly? Christian Trevelyan-Grey," she calls me by my full name letting me know I'm in trouble. "I will not have you be rude to that girl."

"Its fine mother, don't worry," I tell her before she goes any farther.

"I know she is in the internship program, but that is such a waste of her talents," My mother says.

"You couldn't be more right, which is why I have her working with Triple H," I tell her.

"Oh that's perfect for her," she says and stops so that the waiter can place our food.

"Oh Christian, did you two hit it off," my mother asks. "What do you think of her? Was I right to try and set you two up on a date?"

"Is she the girl you've been after me to meet," I say in complete surprise.

Are you telling me I could have had this girl thoroughly fucked months ago? Damn I really should listen to my mother more.

"Yes I think you two would be perfect for each other," she says. "And now she's working at GEH, doing charity work no less, you two have to spend time together now. It's only a matter of time before you fall in love and get married."

"Yes, Little Miss Matchmaker, but you've forgotten one thing. I don't date employees," I tell her.

"Oh pish posh," my mother says. "Well I'm glad you've met her, even if it's just as an employee anyway."

"Well, I figured with all she's been through it would be a great for her to work with our food program," I tell her hoping she'll take the bait.

"So she's told you," my mother says sadly and I nod. "Oh it's a shame isn't it? The poor girl. It just breaks my heart."

"Yes, it's quite shocking to me that she can even function properly," I tell her.

Come on mother spill it.

"Well, she hasn't been able to for such a long time. I mean when I first met her, oh it was just awful. All those years spent living in that hell," my mother says shaking her head. "She's come along way, but it's no wonder she's the way she is."

"The way she is," I ask her "How is she?"

"Now Christian, you know I don't like to gossip," she tells me.

"Of course not mother," I tell her making a mental note to myself to have Barney hack into her medical files. I have to know.

What in God's name happen to her?

I leave my mother with the promise of Sunday dinner this weekend. She insists I bring Anastasia so that they may talk about the Coping Together Event this year. For once, she didn't have to twist my arm to get me to come over.

"Anything," I ask Barney.

"No nothing," He says.

"Nothing? So she was never treated for any kind of abuse, you know broken bones, falling down stairs, starvation, shit like that," I ask him.

"No, Mr. Grey there is nothing here. What I mean is, there is no sign of her being seen by any doctor at all. There are no immunity records, no physicals, no checkups. No school records. There's nothing. Are you sure you've got the right name?"

"I'll get back to you," I tell him and hang up. "What the fuck is going on?"

….

It's been a full week since she started and I have yet to get this girl off of my mind.

What the fuck is it about her that I find so intriguing? She is such a mystery to me.

I find myself venturing down to Triple H on a daily basis.

Ros is happy with my new found interest in the program. It frees up a lot of her time because now I'm running it instead of her.

I remember when I came into the Trip H meeting on Tuesday, Ros just about jumped out of her chair with surprise. I think her reaction was a bit much. Granted I've never attended a single meeting since we started the program years ago, but still lets not overreact.

I think she figured out my motives pretty quick when I caught her smirking at me every time she saw my eyes drifting over to Anastasia.

I'm really hoping no one else has picked up on it.

…..

Taylor is driving me over to pick up Anastasia for dinner with my family.

I'm nervous. Why the fuck am I nervous? This isn't a date. I don't date. I'm just driving her over so that she can work on Coping Together with my mother. It's just business.

Taylor moves to get her from her apartment. I order him to sit his ass back down in the car. I want to get her. I can hear him snicker as I walk to her front door.

"Mr. Grey, thank you for picking me up," she says as she invites me in.

My God she's lovely. Those ill fitting skirts and blouses she wears to work do nothing to show off her figure. Here she is in this form fitting sweater dress and leggings that accentuate every curve. Those perky tits and that ass of hers is just calling for me to spank it.

No she must never wear this to work, I swear I'd take her right on the lobby floor.

"Not at all Anastasia, I'm happy to do it," I tell her.

"Please call me Ana, Mr. Grey," she says.

"Very well, if I must, Ana," I say her preferred name like its torture and that causes her to giggle. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, I just need to pack up the pie I made. Give me just a minute, make yourself at home," She says.

Make myself at home. I look around at her place which is rather lovely. It's all bright and colorful. I notice her large floor to ceiling bookshelf overflowing with books.

"You obviously like to read," I speak loud enough so she can hear me from her place in the kitchen.

"Oh yes, I spend most of my time at the public library on 4th street. I use to read to the children at your mother's hospital, that's how we first met," She tells me. "I knew her as Dr. Trevelyan back then. I want you to know Mr. Grey that I didn't use my knowing your mother as a way to get that interview with GEH."

"That goes without saying, Ana, the thought never entered my mind," I tell her.

"I'm relieved to hear it," she says.

"My mother is quite taken with you," I tell her.

"I'm pretty fond of her as well," She tells me. "Ready to go?"

The drive to Bellevue is usually a long one, but tonight it was all too quick. I've never known a woman, besides Ros, that can match me in conversation.

I swear I was throwing words and phrases at her about subjects that I would have bet my company she wouldn't have picked up on, and damn if I wouldn't be broke by now.

"Christian, Ana. How lovely to see you both," my mother greets us. "Look at you two, together."

"Mother," I warn her.

"Come on in we are just about to sit down," she tells me as she takes the desert and the wine that Anastasia and I have brought for dinner.

"Is this your peach pie Ana," my mother asks smelling it.

"Yes I promised Elliot I would make it for him," Anastasia says.

She promised Elliot? She's making HIM pies?

We make our way in the dining room and everyone gets up to greet Ana.

"Yeah, nice to see you all too," I tell them pretending my feelings are hurt.

Elliot takes Anastasia by the hand and sits her down next to him.

"Ana, honey. Did you make my pie," my brother asks Anastasia.

"Ana honey?" This is just terrific. She's dating my brother! 

"When did it become just your pie, Elliot," my dad chimes in.

"I'm the one who asked her to make it," Elliot says.

"Boys please," my sister Mia says in mom's voice causing them to all laugh.

Have I fucking missed something here?

"Leave it you Ana to finally drag my hermit brother out to have dinner with us," Elliot teased.

"Well we hermits have to stick together," Anastasia says in my defense. "It's the least I can do after ruining his car."

That got everyone's attention. Anastasia and I explain how we met. They all got a kick out of her confusing Taylor and me.

"Well, I hope you no longer drive that car of yours," my father says worried that she is putting herself at risk.

"Oh no, I'm allowed to use a company car, until I can get my own, they say it's part of my job package," she explains.

"Is it," my mother says smirking at me.

I'm so busted.

"How long have you all known, Anastasia," I ask them changing the subject.

"We met her at mom's bake sale last week," Elliot says. "She made the best peach pie I ever put in my mouth. When I heard she was coming over today, I asked her to make me one."

"For all of us," my dad interjects.

Mia, Anastasia and my mom go off in the next room to discuss the plans for coping together, while my dad goes off to finish up a brief for the case he's working, leaving me alone with Elliot.

"Yo, Bro," Elliot says to me. "What's up with you and Ana?"

"Nothing, she works for me," I tell him.

"That's as far as it goes," he asks ."You don't want to do her?"

"I don't date my employees, Elliot," I tell him.

"That's not what I asked you, little brother," he says.

"No I don't want to do her," I lie to him.

"Okay cool, so you won't mind if I make a move on her then," he asks.

"Knock yourself out Elliot," I tell him.

Fuck, I'm about to be cock blocked by my own brother.

…..

At the end of the night, I walk Anastasia back to her door.

"Thank you again for driving me," she says.

"It was my pleasure, Ana," I tell.

"My family really likes you," I tell her. "My brother especially."

"Your brother seems to like all women he's not related to," she says jokingly. "You should have seen him at the bake sale. He's a big flirt, but I don't think he means any harm."

"Would you like to have dinner with me without my family one night," I ask her. No dating employees be damned. I'm not going to stand by while Elliot gets her.

"You mean like a date," She asks.

"Yeah, I suppose you could call it a date. Yes," I tell her, although I've never been on one before, I'm willing to make an exception.

"No," she says.

"No," I repeat. I'm sure I didn't hear her right.

"No, thank you. I don't date Mr. Grey. Goodnight," she says as she goes into her apartment and closes the door.

I'm left speechless on her door step wondering what the hell just happened.

Did she just turn me down? I'm Christian fucking Grey, no one turns me down!

I don't know what she's playing at, but game on.

Oh Game on Miss Steele.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Christians POV

I arrive early for the Triple H meeting in hopes that Anastasia would be there waiting. And sure enough, she is in the conference room alone waiting for the meeting to start.

"Ana," I say feigning surpris. "I didn't expect anyone to be here."

"Oh I'll go, if you want to be alone for a while," she says, getting up to leave.

Damnit! Why does everything I do keep backfiring with this girl?

"Not at all. Please stay. I would actually like to speak to you and apologize for my behavior last night," I tell her.

"No there's really no need. I should apologize for reacting the way that I did and leaving without giving you more of an explanation," she says.

Just as she was about to explain the other committee members come in for the meeting. Taking a look at them, realization dawns that she is the only woman in the room now that Ros is no longer apart of the committee. I wonder if this intimidates her at all.

We sit next to each to each other in silence as the head of Triple H rattles on about how cargo shipment costs have doubled since the last quarter.

That brings me out of my Anastasia induced haze and now he has my full attention.

He hands out his latest spread sheet to everyone but Anastasia, and I'm pissed at the slight.

She cranes her neck to try to see my spread sheet, so I slide it over to her. She takes it with tentative fingers.

I watch her as she studies it intently. I can see the wheels turning in her head as she bites down on her lower lip, deep in thought. She looks up at his presentation of maps and shipment routes and all the bullshit he's using to justify his fuck up, and then back at the spread sheet.

If she were a cartoon, I swear you would see a light bulb come on above her head to show that she has just figured it out.

"Anastasia, do you have something to add," I ask her and everyone turns to look at her.

Her eyes are now the size of saucers and it looks like it's taking everything she has not to dig a hole into the marble floor and bury herself in it.

"Well, yes just an observation," she says gathering herself. "Thank you Mr. Grey."

I know she's actually telling me to go fuck myself for putting her on the spot.

I smirk at her.

"I was looking at the shipping routes and also at the ports that are being utilized. The ports on the west coast, especially those here in Seattle, are some of the most expensive in the country. The docking fees coupled with the tax to unload just a single crate alone are staggering.

If you were to change ports from the west coast to the east coast, using Maine for example you will cut your shipping and handling cost by half. The route is also safer because it will lessen the threat of your ships being overtaken by pirates," she says.

She's gorgeous AND she's saving me money. I'm as hard as a fucking rock right now. 

"Dennis, have you thought about using east coast ports to solve this problem," I ask him, knowing full well he hasn't.

"That wouldn't be realistic considering there is really no one on that coast to monitor things. We have no ties to the east coast. To entertain such a suggestion is absurd and a waste of your valuable time," he tells me checking his watch.

"Anastasia," I say, letting her say what anyone would have a brain should already know.

"Well," she begins, and judging by her tone, I think he just pissed her off, "we may not have people there, but we can most certainly monitor the shipments with tracking devices. Much like other companies do when they have orders to ship worldwide."

"How so," I ask her to continue.

"It would just be a matter of loading the crates and getting them to the east coast. We are doing that already with our freightliners. We can just have them deliver the goods to the docks. Also, there are several companies on the east coast that would load the crates thus eliminating the need for freightliners to travel the distance. If a company as reputable as GEH was to reach out to them, I'm sure they would be accommodating," She says feeling guilty for him and pissed at me for making her blast her supervisor.

"Anastasia, get in touch with the Port Authority of Maine. I want new figures and spread sheets as to how much this is going to cost. You will be the one presenting in tomorrow's meeting." I tell her. I know she is not at all happy about it, but she simply nods.

"Dennis, my office," I tell him.

I find out from this jackass that he doesn't even consult with the members of his committee. He could have avoided this fuck up if he had just asked for their suggestion.

I fire his ass and have Taylor escort him out before he heads to lunch.

"Mr. Grey. Ana's here to see you," Andrea buzzes through the phone.

"Send her in," I tell her.

"Mr. Grey. I don't know how you usually run your meetings, but that was simply inexcusable," she says, coming in fuming. "To put me on the spot and to have me out do my own supervisor to his face is just wrong. How am I ever going to work with him peacefully again?"

"You don't have to worry about that because I fired him," I tell her.

"What," she says shocked.

"Ana, the man just doubled my expenses. Instead of asking his committee members for alternative solutions, he gave a presentation justifying his incompetence. What choice did I have but to fire him," I tell "And if I wanted to answer to anyone about how I run my company, I would have a board, Miss Steele."

"I apologize, Mr. Grey," She says.

"I was impressed by you in that meeting today, you really held your own," I tell her.

"Well I know you're not an easy man to impress, so I take that with high regards," she says.

"Let's go to lunch," I tell her.

"No, Mr. Grey," she says.

"Are you a lesbian Ana," I ask her.

"What? No, of course not. I mean I've experimented, who hasn't? And not that there is anything wrong with being a lesbian, anyway," she says folding her arms and taping her foot.

"Why don't you want to date me," I ask her straight out.

"So because I refuse to date you, you assume I must be into girls. That is some ego you got there, sir," she says to me.

"And that's still not an answer," I tell her.

"I never said I didn't want to date you. I simply said I don't date, Mr. Grey," She corrects me.

"I stand corrected," I tell her. "Why don't you date, then?"

"My reasons are my own, enjoy the rest of your day Mr. Grey," she says leaving my office and leaving me hanging once again.

…..

"Olivia, why did you not answer the phone when I just tried to call you," I ask her as I walk out to her desk.

"Oh I must have put it on silence again," she said lookin at it confused.

Silence! She put it on Silence, she says.

"Can you please be sure to keep it off of SILENT, Olivia." I tell her

I happen to catch Anastasia chatting it up with Taylor at the elevator. She is oblivious to me as they get into the elevator. She is too busy laughing at whatever the hell Taylor is whispering in her ear.

"Where Is Taylor going," I ask Olivia.

"He and Ana are going to lunch," She says.

"Do they do that often," I ask her.

"Every day," She says.

"Oh that reminds me, that WSU guy called and invited you to a dinner function tomorrow night. I declined for you but I thought you should now," she says.

"Why the hell did you do that," I ask her.

"Because last time I said you'd go, you fired me, sir," she says nervously.

"And yet here you are," I tell her taking a breath. "Call him back and tell him I will be attending the dinner with a guest. Have him email me the information."

"Okay, yes sir, Mr. Grey. Okay, let's see, where did I put his number," she says fumbling around with the mess on her desk

"Just have Andrea do it when she gets back from lunch," I tell her

Well Miss Steele, it seems I will have my date after all.

…..

"You look lovely this afternoon, Ana," I tell her as we make our way to SeaTac.

I'm am left god smacked at the sight of her in an above the knee vintage pale rose cocktail dress. It astonishes me that she can look so amazingly hot afterhours and like a damn mole during the work day.

"Thank you. You look very nice yourself," she returns the compliment.

"Really? Are you sure my ego isn't showing," I tell her as I smooth out the breast of my suit.

She looks up at Reynolds who is driving us to the airport tonight.

"Where is Taylor," she asks.

"I gave him the night off to spend with his girlfriend." I tell her emphasizing the word girlfriend. "Besides, don't you see enough of him at work?"

"It's just lunch Mr. Grey," She sighs

"And you refused to have a just lunch with me," I tell her.

"Because with you, it would have been more than just lunch," She tells me.

"Now who has the ego," I ask her.

"So is there anything specific I need to know about this dinner," she changes the subject.

"No," I tell her, angry that she changed the subject.

"That doesn't make me feel at ease with meeting these people," She says.

"The WSU farming division host a dinner once a month to showcase their research. The dinner consists of whatever crops they've harvested for that month. The head of the program is named Raff Myers," I tell her. "Don't worry about impressing him, he will be the one trying to schmooze our asses in order to keep his funding."

…..

"I can't believe you know how to fly a helicopter!" she sequels out once again as make our through the sky.

"Have I finally managed to impress you, Miss Steele," I ask her.

"You've done nothing but impress me since we met," she tell me.

….

"Mr. Grey, how nice of you to join us this evening," Raff greets me.

"Thank you Raff, it's a pleasure to be here. I'd like to introduce you to Anastasia Steele, she was just appointed to head our Triple H program," I tell him.

I step back and watch her work, and here I thought I was good, by the time dinner begins, she has everyone eating out of the palm of her pale little hand.

My cell phone alerts me to a text message.

"What's the matter," Ana asks when she sees the look on my face.

"Reynolds was in a car accident," I tell her.

"Is he alright," She asks.

"He'll be fine, but unfortunately we are stranded here for tonight," I tell her.

"Why can't we fly the helicopter back," she says.

"It was already taken back to SeaTac," I tell her.

"Oh crap," She says. "Cant they bring it back?"

I shake my head no.

"Its too late to file a flight plan," I tell her.

"So what are we going to do," she asks.

"We'll get a hotel room and figure it out in the morning," I tell her.

…

"You have got to be kidding me," she says, as we enter our hotel room and look at the queen size bed.

We booked the only room available in the last hotel in Vancouver. Apparently this is a big night for the university. Everyone is here from out of town to watch the football team that's finally made it to the state playoffs.

"Don't worry, you can have the bed," I tell her not really happy about all this myself. In the history of first dates this has got to go down as the worst.

"Don't be silly," she says, "the bed is big enough for the both of us."

"Oh my god, my feet are killing me, and I really gotta pee," she takes off her heels and heads to the bathroom.

"Too much information, Anastasia," I tell her.

"Sorry," she giggles from the bathroom.

I drop the bag with our oral care and a change of clothes inside.

We lie on the bed both dressed in sweats and t shirt. She's under the covers and I'm on top.

"Are you cold," she asks.

"No I'm fine," I tell her. "Anastasia, there's a good chance I might have a nightmare tonight. If I do, it's best that you don't touch me."

It's better to tell her now so she'll be prepared just in case.

"Me too," She so quietly. I'm not sure if I heard her right.

I sit up to look at her.

"Christian," she says my first name. "Your mother told me about what happened to you as a child."

"Please don't be mad at her for telling me, she was just trying to help me by showing me she understands," She tells me.

"What happened to you," I ask her. "Please tell me it's only fair. I've looked. I've checked your medical records, background. There is no mention of anything."

"Well I'm not surprised. You are probably looking under the wrong name," she tells me.

What the hell.

My birth name is Rose Lincoln, daughter of Russ and Elena Lincoln.

Oh shit no!

"Christian are you alright," she says jumping up out of the bed and coming closer to me.

"Stay the fuck away from me," I yell at her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was not sure of Linc's first name as I didn't recall it being used in FSOG. A reader told me what it was and I"ve since corrected it.

"Well I'm not surprised. You are probably looking under the wrong name," she tells me.

What the hell.

My birth name is Rose Lincoln, daughter of Richard and Elena Lincoln.

Oh shit no!

"Christian are you alright," she says jumping up out of the bed and coming closer to me.

"Stay the fuck away from me," I yell at her.

...

This chapter mentions child abuse, even though it is not described in graphic detail, I still feel the need to warn those who have trouble reading such things.

Chapter 4

Christian's POV

"Did they send you here? Are you trying to hurt my family," I yell at her.

"I'm not here to hurt anybody," she says.

"Does my mother even know who you really are," I ask her.

"She does," She tells me. "Please, Christian listen to me, just hear me out."

"Richard Lincoln is my biological father. Elena adopted me when I was five," she explains.

"I've known Richard and Elena Lincoln since I was a teenager. As far as I know they don't have a daughter. I'm sure I would have remembered seeing or hearing about you," I tell her. "Where the hell were you?"

"I was there," She whispers.

"What the hell do you mean, I ask. "Where?"

"They kept me locked away," She says. "Mostly in a closet in the torture room."

"Anastasia, Rose, or whatever the hell your name is, what the fuck are telling me," I yell at her.

She has to be lying! She couldn't have been there! She could not have been!

"She kept me locked away, And she, Elena, she would take me out of the closet and she would bring men in and they would do awful, awful, awful things and my dad let them, he let them do it, he wouldn't help me. When I was bad, she would put me in a cage and she wouldn't feed me for days. I tried to be good…I tried…I tried…"

She lets it all out in one breath. She is crying so hard now that it's giving her the hiccups. She looks so small. So lost.

"Okay, it's okay," I whisper to her to calm down.

"No don't touch me," she shouts and jumps back when I try to comfort her.

"No, I won't touch you, I promise, Anastasia. It's okay," I tell her gently. My words have no effect on her as she stands hysterically crying.

Fuck! What do I do?

"Just give me a minute," She says seeing me about to panic.

…

"You were close to my parents," she asks after she calms down.

She is sitting on the bed drinking a glass of water as I sit next to her.

"I was to Elena," I told her. "My mother didn't tell you?"

"She told me that they use to be friends of your family. She was heartbroken at the thought of me suffering so close to her for so long and she not knowing. But, obviously there's more to tell though," she says as she looks at my pained expression.

"Elena, she and I, We..."

"How old were you," she asks me

"It started when I was fifteen," I tell her.

"She forced you in the torture room too," she says with a look of dread on her face.

"No, she didn't force me, Ana," I tell her.

"Are you saying you wanted to be in there," She asks disgusted.

"it's complicated, no that's not true, its actually quite simple," I tell her.

"Christian," she says.

"Elena was.. she was my Domme," I tell her "that means..."

"I know what it means. Believe me," she says taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. "For how long?"

"It stopped when I was nineteen," I tell her, purposely leaving out the part where I became Elena's Dom, and the fall out behind it. I don't think she can handle hearing all of that shit yet.

"God, Ana, I swear, I didn't know you were there, if I'd known, I swear I would've helped you. Just the thought of you being there while we were….it makes me sick," I tell her.

"I know that you would've helped me Christian," she assures me. "Elena is the one who is sick. There is no point in blaming ourselves."

"Why didn't your mother help you," I ask her.

"She died a few months before my dad married Elena," she tells me. "My dad was devastated when my mom died. It was so unexpected. He suffered from severe depression, he was so overwhelmed by grief and having to take care of such a small child all alone."

She takes a deep breath and contunues.

"Then one day he bought Elena home and she said she was going to be my new mommy. They were married quickly and soon after that, she adopted me. It was fine for the first year or so. She was fine, until I started to act out. I wouldn't listen to her and she didn't like that," she tells me.

"She would punish me. It started out small but I was a very strong willed child. She wanted to make me cry, but I wouldn't. Then it just escalated into me being put in the closet and her allowing men to torture me. My dad just went along with whatever she wanted. He was afraid of being alone again I think," She says.

"How did you get out," I ask her. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that if it's too much."

"My brother," She says.

"Brother," I ask her. "Where was he?"

"School. Elena hated him from the start. He was very close to our real mother and he wouldn't accept Elena. He wasn't allowed to come home anymore. He lived in boarding school until he moved to Boston to study medicine. He would call me and they would let me talk to him, but of course never alone. I had to pretend like everything was okay. They said if I ever told him, they would hurt him too and I was sure that they would," She begins to cry again.

"He would ask them if I could come and visit him on breaks. He had an apartment off campus with a room already set up for me, but they always made excuses as to why I couldn't visit him. Then one day there he was. He scooped me up and took me away," She smiles at the memory.

"We didn't go to Boston right away. It would have been kidnapping, so my brother petitioned the court for custody. Richard and Elena didn't contest and gave up all parental rights. My brother changed my name to Anastasia Rose Steele. Steele was our mother's maiden name. We left for Boston and I've never seen Richard or Elena again since."

"Your brother didn't press charges? He didn't tell the courts the reason he wanted to adopt you? He didn't make them pay," I ask pissed off at him for not avenging her.

"No, I wouldn't have been able to handle that Christian. I was catatonic by the time he found me. I was locked deep down in my own head. I was that way for years. I would just sit and stare, without never even saying a word," she explains.

"How did you stop being...Uh..." I ask, at a loss for words.

"My brother quickly switched careers. He began studying mental health. I was his case study. I know it sounds weird, but it allowed me to be seen by his professors who then asked their colleagues for help. I was treated by some of the best mental health experts on the east coast," She tells me.

"Slowly, once I realized it was safe to do so, I resurfaced, I guess you can say. But I was fourteen when I was finally able to leave the mental hospital," she says.

"Fourteen, Jesus," I whisper

"When did you move back to Seattle," I ask her.

"Three years ago. My brother ran into Richard and learned that they'd moved close to where we lived in Boston," she tells me. "Just the thought of them being on the same coast was hard to handle, let alone the same city.

So I came back to Seattle, because it was familiar to me. But still, it was the first time I was on my own and I was terrified. One day I was at the hospital, preparing to read to the kids and I just panicked. I nearly relapsed. I would have, if it was not for your mom. When I asked how she knew what to do, she told me about you."

"Are you alright," I ask her as she begins to cry again.

"It's late and I'm really tired. Can we just go to bed," she asks.

"Yes, of course," I tell her as I get up so she can get under the covers.

"Christian? Can I ask a favor," she asks me.

"Anything," I tell her.

"Will you hold me? My brother use to do it when I was afraid to sleep. It helps me to know someone's there," she explains.

"okay," Tell her.

I get under the covers with her back to my front. I wrap my arms around her waist and hold her tight.

"Ana," I ask her after awhile. "Do you remember your real mother?"

"Um, a little. I remember she would always smell like cookies or some type of pastry whenever she picked me up to hug me. It would smell so good. I found out later that she owned a bakery. The peach pie I made was her recipe."

"Baking reminds you of your mother," I ask her.

"Yes," she whispers smiling at a memory as she drifts off to sleep.

I stay awake for as long as I can, watching in case she has a nightmare and afraid of my own, if I was to sleep. Eventually, I drift off not being able to fight it any longer.

…..

I feel warm breath on my face. My eyes fly open to find Anastasia inches away from my face staring intently at me.

"Fuck, you scared the shit out of me," I tell her, making her laugh, as I turn on my back. "You looked like one of those creepy ass dolls they have in the thriller movies."

"I'm sorry," Is all she could say between breathes of laughter.

"Good morning," she says. "How did you sleep?"

"Great," I tell her surprised I didn't have a nightmare. "You?"

"Good," She says.

"Good," I ask. "Judging by the way you were snoring I'd say damn good."

"I do not snore," She squeals out.

"You were calling hogs, as my grandfather would say," I tease her.

That gets her laughing again.

We eat breakfast and goof around a little more while we wait for Taylor to pick us up.

Driving back to Seattle, I want to ask Anastatia, more about her past, but I can sense that she is no longer willing to talk about it. I'm guessing its because she doesn't want Taylor to hear, so we stick to the lighter topics.

She informs me that my mother is laying in wait for me when we get back. She is determined to get me to her Annual Children's Hospital Carnival again this year.

"Are you going," I ask her, hopeful that at least I'll have some kind of fun.

"No way," she says "I'm all for helping planning the events, but you can count me out of attending them."

Now I'm left feeling disappointed.

I am determined to find a way to convince her, to not only come to the carnival, but to be my date.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey all. Thanks for all of your reviews and all of your support.

Chapter 5

You would think that the night we shared would have made us closer, but it has had the opposite effect. Anastasia and I barely speak outside of the Triple H meetings.

For an entire week, I've been left to pine for her from afar. There is really no other word for it but pining. I am determined to get back in to her good graces, not that I was ever there in the first place.

None of my usual charms are working on her, which only severs to make me feel inadequate around her.

If it wasn't for the constant swooning of other females I come in contact with on a daily basis, I would swear I'd lost my touch.

….

"Mother, how nice to see you." I kiss her cheek as she joins me in the great room of my penthouse at Escala.

"My dear, I can't stay long, I just dropped by to be sure you were coming to the carnival tomorrow." She says

"Is this the carnival weekend?" I ask her seeming confused. I pretend to check my schedule in an attempt to get out of it.

"You know very well it is and I expect you to not only put in an appearance but to stay until it's over." She tells me as she points her index finger at me in authority. "Perhaps you can convince Ana to come along as your date."

"Hah! I'll have better luck with finding the lost city of Atlantis." I tell her.

"Christian, are you telling me that you are interested in pursuing a relationship with Ana?" she asks hopeful.

"Yes, Mother." I tell her.

My eardrum nearly shatters from her yelling. I dismiss Taylor and the security team who've just run in to investigate.

"I knew it! I was right, wasn't I?" she says begging me to admit it.

"Yes mother." I sigh at her "Not that it matters, she wants nothing to do with me right now."

I make a show of dramatically slumping down on the couch.

"Oh she's just scared. Trust me when I say she feels the same way about you." my mom says.

I'm eager to know how she could possibly know this. The only conclusion I can come up with it that Anastasia must talk to her about her feelings for me. I feel as giddy as a school girl gossiping with my mother about what she's said about me.

"Well I really can't say what she said, but you're going to have to trust me." she says. "She told me that she confided in you about the Lincolns and that it was okay for us to talk about it if you chose to."

"My god mother, I must say when she told me that I was thrown for a loop." I confess to her. "Never in my wildest dreams would I have come up with that being the thing that happened to her. Based on her charity work, I just thought she was abused, you know starved, but never to such a degree and by Elena and her own father!"

"I know. It's a terrible thing to live through and if anyone can sympathize, it's you. But you must be patient with her. This is all very new to her. She is still very fragile mentally." My mother warns me.

"So, I should leave her alone then?" I ask her crushed by the thought.

The thought of leaving her alone doesn't sit well at all with me.

"No absolutely not." She says to my relief "I think you can be good for each other, but she is very inexperienced Christian, when it comes to matters of dating, if you catch my meaning."

"Sex?" I ask her straight out.

"Yes dear, that would sum it up." She says

"I already figured as much." I tell her.

It doesn't take much to jump to that conclusion.

"Mother? Those men, did they rape Ana?" I ask her fearful of the answer

"No son, they didn't." she tells me. I release the breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Well it's not like I'm eager to hop back on that saddle again after dealing with Elena these last few years."I tell her "How could I have ever thought I loved that monster?"

"We will no longer focus our energy on that despicable excuse for a woman." my mother tells me as we both stand up. "Go to Ana, convince her to come to the carnival. I think it will be a good start."

"I don't even know where she is right now." I tell her

"I happen to know that every evening about this time, she can be found at the library on fourth street."

My mother yelps out in surprise as I grab hold of her shoulders and plant a big kiss on her cheek before I rush out the door to the elevator.

….

It doesn't take long to spot her. She is like a ray of light in this dark dreary place.

She is in the middle of a long wide row of books. She has her face buried in a book with her back leaning against the bookshelf.

"You know this place has lots of chairs." I say as I lean next to her

I swear it's like she was expecting me. There was no surprise on her face at all when she looked up at me.

"They're too out in the open." She explains "I didn't peg you as a public library kind of guy."

"I was looking for you. My mother said this is where you hang out." I tell her

"Is something wrong?" she says closing her book to give me her full attention.

"Yes."I tell her. "And I am in desperate need of your help."

"What is it?" she says concern covering her face

"My mother's carnival." I tell her

"Yeah?" she says urging me on.

"I need you to go with me" I tell her

"Christian, I don't think so." She says shaking her head

"You will be doing me a great favor." I tell her

"How so?" she says

"Well," I stop to look around; making sure no one else can hear me. "I'm afraid of the Ferris wheel."

"Christian, come on." She says not believing me.

"I swear it's true." I tell her honestly "The thought of being rotated that high off the ground, in a small box, that's attached to a wheel, that it took some guy all of a few hours to put together, freaks me the hell out."

"Well that's perfectly understandable." She says. "But you know it's relatively safe. I mean statistically you could be killed just standing on the street before you would riding on a Ferris wheel."

I don't even ask how the hell she knows that.

"It still scares the bejesus out of me and what's worse is that Elliot knows it." I tell her "Every year he double dog dares me to get on it."

"So say no." she simply says. I look at her like she's just sprouted wings.

"Ana!" I yell out in surprise. I'm quickly subdued by a resonating Shhhhh from somewhere in the library, as I have obviously broken the quiet rule.

I lower my voice

"Ana! It's a Double Dog Dare!" I whisper a yell as I emphasize each word.

Surely she knows no one can refuse a double dog dare.

"Right, of course, I mean, how could I not see that before." She chuckles "So what do you want from me?"

"I need you to ride it with me." I tell her

"So you want ME on the death wheel just for YOUR double dog dare?" she asks amused

"Well either that or I can use you as an excuse." I tell her "I can say that you're too chicken and have forbidden me to ride it."

"But then Elliot wins. No way. He. Is. Going. down." she says willing to conspire with me to get back at Elliot.

"So you'll come with me?" I ask her.

"Yes I will." She says

"As my date?" I ask, wanting clarification.

"No." she says

Damn

"I want you to come as my date." She says

"Ana, be reasonable." I tell her frustrated

"I am." She says "Don't think I haven't noticed that you have not cashed a single check I've given you to pay for your Bentley."

"I don't need you to do that." I tell her

"Okay, but at the very least, you can let me treat you to this carnival." She says crossing her arms "Or no deal."

"Okay, deal." I give in to her. My pouting like a child makes her laugh.

….

I check my watch and its seven pm.

This is the longest I've ever been at this carnival. I've spent the entire afternoon having fun with Anastasia. I swear she's turned me into a big kid. She got me to ride the bumper cars, the tilter world, and that damn dragon swing at least three times. If I didn't work out every day I wouldn't have been able to keep up with her as she zipped back and forth through the fair grounds.

"She was only slowed down by her appetite as she insisted we try every strange food stand in sight, from pink and blue cotton candy sundaes to deep fried candy bars.

"Are you ready?" Anastasia asks as we stand at the front of the line. Her forehead furrows at the sight of me looking up at the Ferris wheel.

"Completely ready." I tell her calmly as I take her hand and help her to her seat.

Well we meet again. You garish circle of twisted metal, all adorned with your bright lights and smiley clown faces that mock me while you beckon me in, knowing the dangers that lurk ahead. 

"Don't do it bro!" Elliot yells at me, knowing that I'm about to chicken out.

"Double dog! Double dog! Double dog!" Elliot chants.

I give him double fuck you fingers as we slowly rise to the top.

I hear my mother chastising me as she reminds me of the children that are all around.

The Ferris wheel stops at the very top.

"Now see this isn't so bad." Anastasia says, ignoring the fact that I have a death grip on her hand. I'm surprised I haven't fractured one of her fingers.

"Christian? Are you alright?" she says. The fact that I'm sitting stalk still is beginning to worrying her.

"Uh huh." Is all I say

"You weren't kidding were you?" she said gasping in surprise as she wipes the of beads sweat off my forehead with the napkin from the funnel cake we had before we got on.

In hindsight, I probably should have waited to eat that funnel cake.

"How on earth did you get on this thing last year if you're this scared?" she asks looking at me in wonder.

"My mother road it with me." I tell her truthfully

She tries hard to stifle her laugh.

"Well I'm no Grace, but maybe I can help you." she says "Okay just focus on me. And I probably shouldn't say this, but whatever you do, don't look down."

And of course as soon as it comes out of her mouth, I look down.

I start to panic.

"Relax, we're perfectly fine, just breath."She tells me in a soothing voice as she takes my face in her hands. "Just focus on me." she says.

My fear goes straight to hell having her this close to me with her soft hands now cradling my face and her big blue eyes looking sympathetically into mine.

I realize what a mistake it was to bring her up here.

Because now, sitting up here alone in our own little box, looking up at the clear sky and the twinkling stars that seem to catch her eyes, gives me a sudden unwavering need to take her in my arms and kiss her.

She takes her thumb and wipes away the moisture that has accumulated on my upper lip. I flick my tongue out and brush its soft pad, causing her to gasp at the unexpected contact.

"Anastasia? I call to her noticing that her breathing has accelerated slightly.

"Christian" she whispers.

I lean in closer. The tips of our noses are almost touching.

She licks her lips and I can't stop myself. I must kiss her or I will expire right here on this damn Ferris wheel.

I close the distance.

My lips touch hers softly, giving her a chance to push me away.

She moans as she leans her body into mine.

I brush her lips with my tongue and she opens her mouth giving me permission to enter.

She tastes of funnel cake and strawberry soda.

Her hand moves around to grab the back of my head pulling me in closer as she deepens our kiss.

I wrap my arms around her waist and hold her tight, unwilling to break our kiss as the Ferris wheel spins again.

"Way to go bro!" The obnoxious voice of my brother brings us back to reality.

I look to find my older brother smooching loudly with his hand, like he's in grade school. And of course, the boys waiting in line take note of his antics, and join in the fun.

All the while, my sister busies herself by snapping pictures of the two of us with her phone. I make a mental note to have her send me those later.

Anastasia puts her hand over her mouth to hide her embarrassment as I help her off the Ferris wheel.

We make our way over to the nearly abandoned win a prize booths.

I watch Anastasia as she checks out some of the stuffed animals.

"Do you want me to win you a few?" I ask her

"Why don't we both try," She suggests "that way our chances are better."

I don't know why I set myself up this way. Of course she wins the best stuff animal, a large panda, all by herself, leaving me with an overstuffed gray elephant that's just ugly as all hell.

I go to toss him.

"Don't you dare!" she yells out, coming to his rescue and grabbing him. "He just happens to be my favorite."

I smirk at her knowing it's because I won him for her.

"So what are you going to call this guy?" I ask her. "Mr. Gray, of course."

"Of course" I say to her as I chuckle.

….

Finally worn out from the carnival, Anastasia falls asleep as we drive back from Bellevue.

"Sleeping Beauty." I gently call to wake her as we sit parked outside of her apartment.

"Thank you for agreeing to come with me." I tell her as I walk her to the door

"I really had fun." She say "It was a perfect first date Christian."

"Maybe we are on to something." I tell her

"Maybe we are." She says smiling at me.

I make sure she gets in safely before I kiss her goodnight.

Later as a lay awake in my bed, I hear my phone, letting me know I have a message.

I open it to find a picture of Anastaia cuddled up in bed with Mr. Gray.

Lucky Elephant I think to myself as I save the picture as her contact photo.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

One Month Later

Since our first date at the Carnival, Ana and I have become closer than ever.

We've been going out every weekend for the last month and every Wednesday, she joins me and my family for dinner.

She invited me to join her and Taylor for lunch at GEH, but Taylor quickly found himself another lunch group to hang with. He tells me it is because she and I are way too "lovey dovey" as he calls it and it makes him uncomfortable. So now instead of going out for lunch we just order in and eat in my office, that is when she's not being stolen away by Mia, or worse, Andrea, Ros, and Olivia. Those three always have their heads together and I plan on getting to the bottom of it sometime soon.

GEH is a buzz with gossip about us. Andrea even let it slip that the staff is taking bets on our wedding date. The pool has gotten quite large last I checked.

Normally all this hoopla would make me balk, but Anastasia and I even slipped our own wedding date into the pool. All in good fun of course.

Tonight I've invited her over to my place for dinner. I need to explain to her about my past with Elena and put everything out on the table. I'm nervous as hell because I don't know how she is going to react. This could all blow up in my face, but if I'm going to have any kind of future with her, I'm going to have to come clean about my past.

And to be perfectly honest with myself, I really do want a future with her.

...

The elevator pings alerting me to her arrival.

"Ana, you look beautiful," I tell her honestly because she truly is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.

"Thank you, you look quite handsome yourself," she tells me.

I give her a quick tour of the place before we have dinner.

"I hope you don't mind I ordered in. Gail is off today and you know I can't cook to save my life." I tell her

"No, I don't mind at all," she tells me as we make our way to the dining area that is already set up for us to eat.

I am please to see her clean her plate.

To my displeasure she insists that we wash the dishes by hand. Some crap about the environment, I don't know what it's all about, but apparently it's serious. I make a note to get an "environment friendly" dishwasher to avoid this the next time she comes over.

...

"So," she begins as we sit in the great room sipping wine. "What is that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"You always cut right to it huh?" I ask her laughing slightly

"I know you, and it's hard for me to sit here when you're this nervous." She says "Whatever it is, it can't be as bad as all that."

"Oh it's bad as all that." I whisper more to myself than to her.

"Christian, just tell me." She says

"We're at a good place finally. I don't want to mess anything up." I tell her.

"Christian, I like you, I really do." She tells me "The reason why I kept my distance before was because I was afraid that you didn't want me. I mean it's not every day a girl tells the guy she likes that she spent a big chunk of her life in the loony bin and he sticks around."

"Is that why you were so put off the week before I asked you to the carnival?" I ask her

"Yes," she says "I was just trying to make it easy for you to walk away. The day you came to the library, Grace told me she was sending you over to talk to me. She told me I should stop getting in the way of myself and let things happen. So I'm here and I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to."

"Ana, I had an affair with Elena." I blurt out

She stares at me for a moment as what just came out of my mouth soaks into her head. Her eyes bulge out as she downs her glass of wine two gulps.

"Ana, just here me out okay?" I beg her

"I'm here. I'm listening." She reassures me

"Well you know about the BDSM, but what you don't know is that it didn't end until three years ago. I was faithful to her and I haven't been with anyone since she and I...stopped." I say to her

"Elena, is the only woman you've ever been with?" she asks me.

" Yes. Ana, this is so hard to explain." I tell her.

I run my fingers through my hair and take a deep breath.

"The best way is just say it Christian." She tells me gently

"I fell in love with her," I tell her. "At least that's what I thought at the time, but now I know different. She and I were having what I thought was this great love affair. It went beyond BDSM. Toward the end BDSM wasn't a factor at all unless she wanted it. She liked when I hurt her."

"You two obviously got caught" she says

"Your dad came home early from a business trip and caught us in his bed." I tell her "It didn't take long for my family to find out. Linc made sure of that. My parents were devastated. My dad threatened to disown me if I didn't stop seeing her, but I didn't care. I professed my love to her. I swore I would never give her up. God I was such an idiot."

"You weren't an idiot. She is just very manipulative." She says

"We kept seeing each other. I had bought an apartment here at Escala and we would meet here whenever she could get free of your dad." I tell her.

"You brought her here?" she asks me looking around suddenly disgusted with the place.

"No not to the penthouse. I bought this place later. I owned an apartment on a lower floor." I quickly explain to her.

"How did it end?" she asks me

"I caught her with a boy named Isaac." I tell her. "They were having a session in her…..torture room."

"A boy?" she asks

"He was sixteen, consenting age, but still." I tell her. "Needless to say, I didn't react well. I threatened to expose her and to a lesser degree your dad."

"My dad?" she says shocked. "He was into BDSM too."

"Yes." I tell her

"According to Elena, that's how they met. They were both in the lifestyle." I tell her

"My mother?" she starts. I can see the thought is very upsetting to her.

"No Ana, no I don't think so." I answer her quickly. "Elena didn't talk about Linc much but I know that he was married when they met. He was with Elena because he's wife wasn't into BDSM."

"God that bitch really gets around town doesn't she?" she says laughing bitterly

"She did until I ran her off." I tell her "I bought her chain of spa salons out from under her. I was going after Linc's Lumber but he was tipped off and they quickly left Seattle."

"And ended up in Boston." She whispers to herself

"Shit, Ana I'm sorry." I tell her feeling like shit for putting Elena and Linc in her path.

"Please don't feel bad. It's okay, Christian, you couldn't have known" she says as she climbs on my lap and straddles me. "Besides, if they didn't leave Seattle, I would still be in Boston right now."

"Well at least one good thing came out of it all then." I tell her

"Well maybe it would have been better if we didn't meet, I mean considering the paths we had to take to get us here." She says sadly.

"Ana, please don't say that." I tell her. I push her long hair off of her shoulders so that I can look at her. "I would give anything to take away the pain of what happened to you, but I would live through mine all over again if it meant having you."

"Having me how?" she whispers "What do you want from me Christian?"

"Nothing more than you're willing to give me." I tell her honestly.

"I want you Ana. But if you're not ready, I can wait. As long as I know you're mine." I tell her.

"I want you too, Christian, but I can't do BDSM with you." she says sadly

"I wouldn't want you to. I don't want our relationship to be about that. I want to make love to you, Ana." I tell her

"I want that too then, please make love to me Christian." she says.

I hold her in my arms as I lift us off of the couch and head to my bedroom.

I sit her on the edge of the bed and kneel down between her legs to look up at her.

"Are you sure." I ask her "We don't have to do this, we could just..."

She ends my train of thought by pulling me into a kiss.

"Make love to me Christian." She whispers.

I quickly undress down to my boxer briefs.

"Have you ever done this before?" I ask her as I stand her up to help her undress.

"No. But I've read a lot about it. It doesn't look that hard." She says seriously as I try to hide my laugh.

"Okay." I simply say.

I untie her wrap around dress and watch as it falls in a soft heap at her ankles. She steps out of it. I bend down to remove her black flats. I slowly slide her light pink lace panties down her legs and toss them to the side.

"You are so beautiful." I whisper to her as I kiss my way back up her body.

I turn the covers back on the bed, lift her up, and lay her gently down in the center.

I quickly grab a condom right before I toss my boxers and climb into bed with her.

I take my time exploring every inch of her with my mouth as she whimpers and writhes underneath me.

My hand moves down between her legs, making sure she is ready for me and I nearly cum at the feel of her soaking wet and dripping into the palm of my hand.

"I need to be inside you." I tell her, desperate to make love to her.

"Yes." She says.

I put on the condom and climb on top of her.

"Ana, are you sure?" I ask her again

"Yes I'm sure. Please I want you inside me, Christian." She reassures me

I hover for as long as I can at her entrance just in case she changes her mind, but I lose my resolve when she cradles my face in her hands and pulls me down for a kiss. She plunges her tongue in my mouth as she lifts her hips up to help guide me in.

I enter her.

"Ana, you feel so good." I pant out

So tight. So warm. So wet.

I still myself to gain control and to allow her time to adjust to me being inside of her.

I'm not sure how long I can last.

"Oh Christian." she begins to pant breathless as she bucks her hips up and down off the bed pushing me deeper into her.

"So good….Ana ….so good." Is all I can pant out as we cum together.


	7. Chapter 7

Enjoy the chapter! Thank you for taking time to read and review!

Chapter 7

I am awakened by a painful smack to my face.

I come out of my sleepy haze confused as to what the hell is going on, until I look over to see Anastasia in the midst of a nightmare.

She is thrashing her arms and yelling out incoherently. I know better than to touch her but fuck, if she keeps this up she's going to hurt herself.

I call out her name and I try to grab for her arm.

Suddenly she lashes out and scratches me hard on the face.

"Ana, Stop!" I yell at her "It's Christian, you're safe. Can you hear me?"

"Christian?" she says my name unsure if she can trust that I'm here with her.

"It's me. I'm here. You're safe with me now." I tell her.

"Christian, I'm sorry." she says embarrassed as she comes to herself.

"Don't be." I tell her turning on the light.

"You're hurt!" she says after her eyes adjust to the light allowing her to see the welt marks on my cheek.

"I hurt you?" she says "God, I'm sorry Christian."

"It's okay. It's not that bad." I tell her

"Come here." I call to her as I get back in bed and pull her close to me. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I just want to forget about it." she whispers. "But I can't. She wont let me. I think Elena's some evil sorcerer. As soon as she senses that I've found some happiness, she swoops in and invades my dreams to let me know that I'm not supposed to ever have it."

"Don't say that." I tell her "She can't hurt you anymore. I won't let anyone hurt you again."

…..

I wake up to find Ana at the foot of the bed getting dressed. I look over at the clock and it reads six a.m.

"Ana its early." I tell her, my voice still deep from sleep. "Where are you going?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." she says "I was just going to go home."

That statement woke me up.

"Why, what's the matter?" I ask her.

"Nothing." She says coming over and kissing me goodbye. "Go back to sleep."

Before she can make it to my bedroom door, I'm up out of bed trying to talk her out of leaving.

"I thought we could have breakfast." I tell her, a little confused by her sudden need to leave.

"Yeah, I guess, if you want." She says unsure

"Ana, did I do something wrong?" I ask her

"No. Why?" she asks

"Well you were practically sneaking out of here before I woke up." I tell her "And now, you still can't get away from me fast enough. Are you trying to duck out on me?"

"No, that's not what I was trying to do." She laughs a little at the thought.

"Ana did I just blow it? Did I just push you into sleeping with me? I knew you weren't ready." I tell her.

"Christian, you didn't push me and I was ready. I am ready. But I don't want you to think that you're obligated to see me again after last night." She tells me.

"Wait a second, Ana, this wasn't a one night stand we just had last night." I tell her. "Is that why you're running out of here?"

"I just dont know how I'm suppose to act now. I don't want to be too needy, but honestly, I really don't want to leave either." She admits to "I just don't know how this part is supposed to go. What's supposed to happen the morning after?"

"We can start by being honest with each other." I tell her as I pull her back in the room to sit on the bed. "I have feelings for you Ana, strong feelings. Everything in me is telling me to get closer to you, not keep my distance."

"Me too." She admits "I like who I am when I'm with you. I can be myself without feeling that I'm different or strange. I know I'm a lot to take on though, Christian. I come with a lot of baggage."

"I'm not exactly weightless, myself." I tell her.

"The way I see it is, we can let our past tear us down until there's nothing left for our furture or," I pause for thought.

"Or what," She asks me.

"Or we could go for it," I tell her "We can just jump in and see where this goes."

"You mean, be together? You and me?" she asks.

"Yes." I tell her "I love you, Ana. Let's just go for it. All or nothing."

"I love you too, Christian."

"All or nothing." She repeats.

…

Four Months later

"Ros, what is this meeting about?" I ask her for the second time in as many minutes, as I sit impatiently waiting in my conference room.

I swivel around in my chair to look over at her when she fails to answer me.

"We're waiting for Ana, Andrea, and their team." She tells me. "Once they gets here, we will explain everything. Be patient. We've only been waiting two minutes."

"This is a Triple H meeting? I ask her "Do I really need to be here for this?"

Ever since I promoted Ana to head up Triple H, I haven't needed to attend a single meeting. She has proven herself more than capable of running the program.

"No, this is not a Triple H meeting," She tells me "This is a P.R. meeting. That's why Larry is here."

I look over at Larry and he shrugs as if to say he as no idea what's going on.

"Ana is not in P.R." I tell her pissed off that Ros has pulled not only me, but Ana away from our jobs for this meeting. "Why the hell are we being bothered to attend this meeting?"

"How long has she known about this meeting" I ask Ros

I am surprised that Ana didn't mention it to me last night or this morning before we came to work.

She and I have been living together for the last four months now. In fact we haven't spent a night apart, unless I was away on buisness, since we first professed our love to one another. She still has her apartment though, if only to put a limit on the rumor mill here at work. Hopefully that will change after tonight.

"I just told her about it this morning, when I asked her to assemble the team that's agreed to work with us." She explains to me.

"Ros what the hell..." I am about to go off on her because she knows I don't like being kept in the dark about this kind of shit, when the conference room door opens.

In walks Ana, looking just as delicious as when I kissed her goodbye in the elevator this morning.

She's has recently upgraded her work attire. One day I asked her why she dressed down at work. It took her awhile to admit not only to me but to herself that it was a habit left over from her childhood, where she would be left neglected and filthy all day but made to dress up at night. Once she recognized it for what it was, she grabbed Mia and off they went shopping for new work clothes.

Following closely behind her as she enters the conference room is Barney, my tech guy, Taylor, my head of security, Gail Jones, my housekeeper, Andrea, my personal assistant, and Olivia, Andrea's assistant of all people.

They all take a seat around the conference table. I look at Ros to hurry it along. I am very curious about this motley crew that has been assembled.

"Well I'm sure Ana has filled you in as to the reason she's assembled you all here this afternoon, so I will turn the floor over to her." Ros says taking a seat. We all turn our attention to Ana.

I try and hide my grin, as she now has that deer in the headlights look she gets every time the spot light is thrust upon her. She composes herself and stands to speak.

"Barney will you help me with the computer please?" she asks

"Of course, Ana." Barney gets up so quickly, his chair nearly falls backwards. I frown at his over eagerness to help Ana.

He turns on the computer and the GEH website comes on the large TV screen mounted on the wall.

"Now imagine you were a recent college graduate looking for a job and you heard about GEH. Well naturally, you would want to research the company."

She glances at me and smiles. I know she is thinking about the first day we met and how I questioned her about not doing her research on the company.

"So you would most likely go to your computer, type in GEH, and this is what you would see." She says pointing to the TV screen.

"Andrea, what do you think of the website?" Ana asks.

"Well nothing really, I mean there really isn't anything there." Andrea says shyly.

"Exactly." Ana says "All you'll be looking at is our company logo next to a bunch of generic people, doing boring office stuff, in boring fake office posses. It looks like a really bad brochure you'd be forced to read at your doctor's office."

The room erupts with laughter.

"I'll have you all know I designed that website." Larry Donavon , my head of P.R. says. He sits with his arms crossed visible seething.

"I apologize." Ana starts, mortified that she had to prove a point at Larry's expense.

"I didn't mean…I'm sure it was amazing, in its day…" she starts but stops again when he huffs at her unintended slight.

"It is a bit out dated Larry." I tell him, coming to her rescue. I nod for Ana to continue and to not give a shit about Larry's sensitive ego.

Instead Ros takes over, not giving a damn if she hurts his feelings or not.

"Our popularity is at an all time low. Even though we have a CEO who is not even thirty yet, we are considered a grandfather company. No up and comer or fresh faced kid with new ideas is knocking down our door. Do you realize that we had that intern position available for six months and only two applicants took an interest? And one of them came here because of her charity work. Hell, she rammed her car into the CEO and didn't even know who he was!" Ros explains causing everyone to laugh again.

"Your point has been made very clear Ros." I tell her rolling my eyes at her antics. "We need to reach out to the potential new hire.

"Yes, we need to let them know that this is the company to be at." Ros agrees. "That it's not just run by some uptight guy who….

"Obviously we are here because you all have ideas on how to do that." I interrupt Ros. As I look at each person at the table, they all turn to Ana so she can answer.

"Well Ros, Andrea, and I came up with some ideas." Ana starts. I realize this must be the reason their heads were always together.

"We are going to start by revamping the website. Make it more friendly and informative." Ana explains. "It will also be a how to site for a person who is just venturing into the business world. People can view the website and not only learn all about GEH but find tags with other useful things as well. That's where we all come in. Each person here will be responsible for a certain section. It can be a blog or something where there is a following, the choice will be theirs.

Andrea, wants to give advice on how to go after a job, from how to have a stand out resume to how to nail the interview. Gail, to give suggestion on how to live on a tight budget. She can give recipes for healthy tasty and inexpensive food that's quick and easy to prepare. You can have a wine of the month club if you want. And give tips on proper dining etiquette when you have to have those god awful lunch meetings with your boss." she says turning from me and talking to Gail.

Olivia you'll focus on fashion…." Ana continues.

"Yayyy." Olivia says clapping her hands causing the ladies to giggle and the men to shake their heads.

"It will be for both men and women showing them how to dress appropriately for work, giving advice on how to look good and save money." Ana tells her.

"Taylor and Larry it will be up to the two of you to make sure that whatever we put on the website doesn't alienate the…more seasoned people that may visit the website. Taylor you can also include a section on workplace security and safety. And Finally, Barney will take all of our ideas and information and put it together on a simple format that we can all use."

"Christian, what do you think?" Ros asks for my opinion and approval of the new website.

"Larry, you will oversee every inch of this. I want you to make sure it appropriately reflects what GEH is about at all times." I tell him and he agrees.

"As long as it doesn't interfere with the duties you all already have, I think it's an excellent idea." I tell them.

"Great," Ros says "I want to launch this as quickly as possible. Ana and Andrea will go around and give you more details on what's actually expected of each of you in the next few days. Why don't we all meet again in a week to see where we are? And if this works we can talk about using it as a presentation when Larry's team goes out and speaks to colleges."

Andrea informs me that Ms. Jones' paperwork is on my desk for review since she in now to be employed at GEH. I tell her to just run it through.

Everyone exits the room excited and talking over ideas with one another, with the exception of Barney, who is lingering around chatting with Ana.

"Thank you Barney." I say to him and he takes it as his que to leave.

I lock the door behind him.

"Christian this is very inappropriate." Ana says to me as I lift her up and sit her on the conference table.

"I can't help myself," I tell her honestly "Watching you lead meetings and giving orders turns me so on."

"What if someone's wondering where we are?" she says as I nip at her neck. She moans as she leans her head back to give me better access.

"Mmmm, two minutes, baby." I tell her "That's all I need."

My confession makes her giggle as she swats and pushes me away.

"I'm not going to get my panties in a bunch for a measly two minutes." she teases me as she hops off the conference table and heads toward the door.

"Oh I've schedule your photo shoot for first thing in the morning," she tells me.

I must have missed this part of the presentation.

"All of the departments and department heads will have pictures on the new website along with an explanation of who they are and what they do for the company." She explains "Jose will be taking the pictures."

"Your neighbor?" I ask her not really wanting to endure having my picture taken by some amateur.

"Yes, he's very good and I expect you to set the example and cooperate." She tells me wagging her index finger at me.

"Yes Ma'am." I tease. "Are you heading home?"

"In about thirty minutes." she says.

"Don't forget, I want to take you somewhere tonight. I'll have Taylor pick you up at eight."

"I hate that your working so late. I miss us going home together." She says

"It won't be for much longer, the merger's almost done." I tell her. She kisses me goodbye.

"Eight o'clock." I remind her. "Dress warm."

"I'll be ready." She says blowing me a kiss before she exits the conference room.

I rush to my office, lock the door, and sit at my desk.

I pull out the engagement ring I had custom made for Ana a month ago and hold it in my hands to inspect it one last time. I'm really hoping she likes it.

I'm nervous as fuck, now that I am actually going to propose to her tonight. I pick up the phone to call my mother.

"Mom I'm nervous." I tell her. "What if she doesn't like the ring? Maybe it's too soon for her? What if this drives her away? What if she says no?"

My parents are the only ones in my family that know about this. There is no way that Mia or Elliot would have been able to keep this to themselves for long.

I would have liked to talk to Ana's brother and get his blessing since he is the closes thing she has to a father.

Unfortunately they are not speaking at the moment. She won't say what it's all about, but I have a feeling he doesn't approve of us being together. I can see his point.

No guy wants to have his baby sister dating the guy that had an affair with her abusive stepmother. If it were Mia, I would lose my shit.

"Don't be ridiculous, Christian." my mother scolds me "Ana loves you so much. I can see it every time you two are together, every time she mentions you. She won't say no. Trust that this is right."

My nerves relax enough so that I am able to at least function again, after my mother reminds me of what I already know.

I call for the third time in an hour to make sure that everything is ready for tonight.

Hopefully by the end of the night, Miss Anastasia Rose Steele will agree to be Mrs. Anastasia Rose Grey.


	8. chapter 8

chapter 8

"Christian, what are we doing here?" Ana asks when the Audi SUV Taylor's driving us in, comes to a stop at the end of the pier.

"Well I think it best fits the occasion." I tell her as I help her out of the car "Let's go."

"What occasion are you speaking of?" she asks me, trying to figure out why I'm being so secretive.

"You'll see when we get there." I tell her "Come on."

We down the boardwalk of the now deserted pier.

"Christian this pier is closed." She says as she notices that we are the only ones here, with the exception of the employees and security.

"It's okay, I had them close it early tonight." I explain to her.

"Is that even legal?" she asks, surprised that someone is capable of doing such a thing.

"Very legal." I assure her.

As we get closer to our destination, her eyes grow wider and wider as she realizes what I intend for us to do.

"No way, Christian," she says as she pulls her hand out of mine and looks up at the giant Ferris wheel. "This monster is even bigger than the one at the carnival. There is no way in hell I'm letting you get on that thing."

"Ana, it's okay, I want to do." I reassure her.

"Christian, I am all for conquering fears, but this is going too Far," she says, gesturing around herself with her hands. "Did you really close down the entire pier just so you could ride on the Ferris wheel?"

"You are really going to make me work for it aren't you, sweetheart?" I ask her.

I am inwardly freaking out. The thought of her not getting on the Ferris wheel never entered my mind, but I kick myself because it should have. When has she ever done anything without questioning the reason behind it first? It's one of the things I love about her. My only option now is to level with her.

"I need to ask you a question and it has to be on the Ferris wheel. Please come with me." I ask, as I extend my hand to her.

She takes my open hand and I help her on to her seat.

"Wait for the signal." I tell Taylor who readies his binoculars.

Unlike at the carnival, this Ferris wheel rises straight to top.

Fuck she is so right. This monster is way bigger than the one at the carnival. Jesus I can see all the way to Portland up here.

Focus Grey. Deep breaths. We're fine.

"Christian." Ana calls to me softly after we've been sitting for a good fifteen minutes I'm sure. I can sense her worrying about my potential to freak out

I try to keep her from looking down. I'm sure she will see all of the sudden activity thats happening on the ground.

I take a deep breath and turn to her…here goes.

"Ana," I start then clear my throat to stall long enough for my nerves to calm down. " I brought you here, to the top of this Ferris wheel tonight because being here like this with you on our first date, was the day I realized that my life would never be the same. I looked at you and I knew that you were it for me. That was the moment that I fell in love with the most beautiful, intelligent, and caring, woman that I have ever met. You took this experience that I have dreaded all my life and you mad it incredible. That's what you've done to my life Ana, you have made it incredible and I want you to be a part of it forever."

With shaky hands, I reach into my pocket and take out the little box that holds her ring.

Please don't let me the ring. Please don't let me drop the ring.

"Christian." Ana whispers my name as her hand flies up to cover her mouth. Tears are slowly falling down her cheeks.

"I love you. I have loved you almost since the first moment I saw you, when you ran into me with your car." I tell her and she laughs "God you were so unexpected. When I think that I almost sent you away. What a fool I almost was."

"Anastasia Rose Steele, will you do me the honor of being my wife?" I open the box, letting her see her ring.

"Christian, I love you so much." she says through tears as she looks at the ring then back up at me. "Yes, yes, I will be your wife."

I slip the ring on her finger and pull her in for a kiss.

"I love you," she whispers.

"I love you." I whisper back as I kiss her again.

Seeing the cue, the Ferris wheel descends bringing us back down again.

The surprise look on her face when she sees everyone waiting to share our moment, is priceless.

"SHE SAID YES!" I yell at the small crowd that is now gathered at the bottom of the ferries wheel. They erupt with applause and congratulations.

In the distance, the band begins to play. We make our way over to where I have dinner waiting for us to all celebrate.

Everyone that is important to us is here to share in our joy.

"Oh my god let me see the ring." Mia exclaims overly excited as we sit down at the table.

"Wow big brother, that must of set you back." Mia says eyeing the ring.

"She's worth it." Ros says as she and her wife, Gwen, get a look at it.

"Is that a pink diamond?" Andrea asks, practically drooling as she gets up from where her and her husband John is sitting to take a look.

"It's an amazing ring." Grandmother Trevelyan declares and Grandfather Trevelyan can't help but agree.

I shake my head at all the hoopla over the ring. Hell, I would have got the damn Hope Diamond if it meant she'd marry me.

It must be a woman thing.

"Well I helped him pick it out" Elliot chimes in shooting that theory all to hell.

"Alright," My father says as he puts an end to it.

"Well what we really want to know is the wedding date." My mother asks. She dabs the tears away that have gathered in the corners of her eyes.

"Ros, Andrea and Taylor are now all ears and I'm sure it's because of that damn pool that's going on at the office.

I look over at my fiancé and she grins wide at me. I'm sure she's worked that out as well.

"Well, we haven't gotten that far yet, guys." Ana says

"That's right, she did just agree. Although I want it to be soon." I add.

Like lets hope on the jet and head to vegas tonight soon.

Ana nods in agreement.

"Come on lets enjoy the evening. We can figure it all out later." I tell them putting an end to wedding talk. I just want to enjoy this moment with my girl and our family and friends.

We spend the next two hours eating and dancing the night away. I say goodbye to my grandparents and our remaining guest then go in search of Ana.

I find her sitting in the corner, staring at her ring on her hand.

"You okay, sweetheart?" I ask sitting down next to her and taking her hand.

"Perfect." She says "You've made me so happy, Christian."

"I'm just returning the favor." I whisper to her.

"Come on." I tell her getting up and offering her my hand. "I want to go home and make love all night to my beautiful fiancé."

...

The elevator doors open up and allow Taylor and Gail to haul ass to their living quarters. I am sure they are more than a bit embarrassed by the make out session that Ana and I have been in since we got in the back seat of the SUV.

We leave a trail of clothes from the great room to our bedroom, discarding them as we go along.

My lips leave hers just long enough for me to throw the bedcovers back. My mouth finds hers again as I pick her up and climb into bed with her.

My mouth leaves hers again as it makes its way down her body. I take her full pale breast in my hand while my mouth captures her rose pink nipple.

The sight of her arching her back as she moans in pleasure, spurs me on.

I greedily latch on and suck until her nipple is bright pink and pebble hard, before I move on to the next one.

I kiss and lick my way down to her belly button. She giggles as I stick my tongue inside.

"I want to taste the rest of you sweetheart." I whisper to her as I settle myself between her legs.

She impatiently lifts her hips to meet my mouth as I stick my tongue out to lick her clit.

"Oh Christian," she moans out my name as I take her clit full into my mouth and suckle it.

She squirms in pleasure beneath me as she becomes extremely wet. Her leg muscles begin to tighten as she starts to spasm.

"Cum for me sweetheart," I moan out

"No." she pants out squirming away from my mouth. "I want you inside me when I cum."

She never has to ask twice as I make my way back up to her.

She cries out in ecstasy as I enter her.

"I love Christian." She says as she orgasms.

Oh god Ana," I yell out as her orgasm triggers mine and it rips through me.

"I love you." I breathe out to her.

...

Finally, after giving eachother three more orgasms, we lay sweaty and exhausted, as we once again gain control of ourselves.

I pull her into my arms as sleep threatens to overtake me.

"Christian?" I hear Ana whisper my name

"Hmmm? I say in answer to her

"What did you mean earlier, when you said you almost sent me away?" she asks me skeptically.

Uh oh


	9. chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Christian?" I hear Ana whisper my name

"Hmmm? I answer her

"What did you mean earlier, when you said you almost sent me away?" she asks me skeptically.

Uh oh

"Well, baby." I start, holding her close to me. "You know when we met, it wasn't exactly in the best of circumstances. I mean you did put a large dent in my vintage Bentley. And then you mistook me for the chauffeur. I just got the impression that you were a bit daft…just a little" I add quickly.

"Daft, you say? Well excuse me for not recognizing the great and powerful Christian Grey. Your enormous ego is at it again." She huffs "Besides, I said I was sorry about your car."

"Yes you did, and I totally forgive you." I tell her. "And I give you permission to dent as many of my cars as your little heart desires."

"Oh, stop patronizing me, Mr. Grey." She says, pretending to fume.

"Oh come now, it wasn't like I made the best impression on you either, Miss No I Don't Date." I tease her.

We both laugh at the memory of me left standing in shock and open mouthed on her doorstep.

"You shot me down cold." I tell her. "I was so dead the buzzards were circling."

"You know I was terrified of you back then." She confesses. "I knew you were going to be big trouble."

"But I refused to give up on you." I tell her kissing her shoulder.

"Mhm, you wore me down." she says.

"Do you regret it?" I ask her seriously

"The only thing I regret is fighting it for as long as I did." She tells me.

"I love you Ana," I sigh into her hair letting the scent overtake me.

"I love you too," she says back to me.

…

Three weeks later

It has been a whirl wind of activity for Ana and me. Ever since the rumors started about Ana and I being engaged, the tabloids have been all over us, much to Ana's chagrin. They have printed closeups of her engagment ring. Speculation on a quickie wedding because she's pregnant is now the hot topic.

She is very weary of all the publicity and I can't blame her. She won't voice the concern outloud, but I know she is terrifed that someone will find out about her past. I've hired a CPO in hopes that it will help elevate some of the anxiety she is now experiencing from being recognized by paparazzi when she goes out.

I'm sure that if she had known that her beloved privacy would have been invaded so drastically, she probably would have thought twice about agreeing to marry me. I would have no one to blame but myself. I should have prepared her better.

"Christian?" Ana says poking her head into my office and pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Hey baby, come on in." I tell her.

"Sorry to bother you, I just need you to sign off on this." She says handing me her paperwork.

"Not a bother, I love seeing my fiancé's beautiful face in the middle of the day." I tell her.

"Aw, you see that's why I love you." she says gushing at me.

"Oh no you don't," she says firmly as I get up from behind my desk and stalk towards her. "Ros is about to start the meeting, and I am not going to go in there looking all hot and bothered or worst like you just had me on your desk."

"Baby, you keep talking like that and I won't be able to stop myself." I tell her "I suggest you leave now before I take you over my desk and have my way with you."

She wraps her arms around me and presses her lips to mine. Before I can deepen the kiss, she moves away, grabs her paperwork and heads for the door.

"Are you coming to the meeting" she asks.

I tell her that I'll probably pop in if I have some time.

I make to the meeting just in time to see my take charge Ana in action.

"Olivia, I love the Idea of the makeover on the street and if you can get pass Larry and Taylor, I say go for it." she tells Olivia who is all smiles. "Alright, I think my work here is done. Just keep in mind who you are representing and you all will do great."

I frown at the reaction of her parting words as everyone hugs her and files out of the conference room.

"Are you not going to continue with the project?" I ask her once we are alone, even though I already know she's not.

"Uh, no actually I'm not." She says unsure of how to tell me she's quitting GEH.

I decide to tease her a bit.

"Well that makes sense, you do have a wedding to plan, I'm glad you want to cut back a little." I tell her

"Actually, Christian," she says. "I'm resigning from GEH."

I pretend to be God smacked.

"I was planning on telling you," she adds quickly. "I just don't think me working here is a good idea."

"Because we're getting married," I ask her

"Partly, yes." She tells me.

"Okay, that's good. I'm glad we are on the same page." I breathe out, pretending to be relieved and she looks at me confused. "Well, no wife of mine is ever going to be allowed to work."

And judging by the look on her face, I believe I just blew this conversation to hell.

I pretend to cough to hide the laugh that just escaped.

"Well what were you planning on doing?" she asks, becoming more heated with me with every passing second "Were you going to club me over the head and drag me back to the cave once I said I do? You are unbelievable!"

"That's not what I meant at all baby," I say to her "I just thought, you know, you could focus on running our home and having our kids or whatever married women do. I don't know knit sweaters."

"What day and age are you living in?" She balks out.

"First of all Mr. Grey, it takes both of us to run OUR home and have OUR kids." She says with her arms crossed and her foot stuck out in defiance. "And although there is nothing wrong with being a housewife, if one so chooses, I can't not believe you have the nerve to stand there and….."

She stops in mid sentence when she takes note of the grin on my face.

"Oh I can't believe you sometimes Christian Grey," she yells at me as she smacks my arm. "You really had me going."

"I loved every minute of it." I tell her, taking her into my arms.

"Who told you I was quitting." She asks me.

"H.R." I tell her. "Of course they didn't tell me why you were quitting."

"Well that's the part I wanted to talk to you about." She says nervously.

"Okay, lay it on me." I tell her.

"You promise not to laugh." She says seriously

"I promise." I tell her just as seriously.

"I want to open a bakery." She blurts out

"A bakery?" I ask her to clarify, because this is not at all what I was expecting.

"Yes." She says. "My mother, when she died she left me and my brother money and she also left us her bakery, but we were young and my dad didn't care enough about it to keep it for us so…" she trails off lost in some memory.

"Ana, hey," I kiss her. "It's okay."

"I know its a long shot," she whispers. "There are a million bakeries in downtown alone and I don't know the first thing about running one, but I want to try. It's been a dream of mine for a long time."

"And now it's our dream." I tell her "I'll help you."

" I would like that," she says, but then thinks better of it. "Not too much help though. You can advise me, but I want to do it on my own, even if it fails."

Oh no baby, no way in hell I'm going to let it fail. 

"I completely understand." I tell her. "So when are you going to start this venture?"

"Ummm well, after the honeymoon," she grins at me as she walks towards the door, "but before the kids."

Kids!

"Muwah." She says blowing me a kiss. "I'm going to my place to pick up my mail."

"Do you really want kids?" She's out the door and didn't hear my quesion.

Damn if I didn't just inadvertently open up a can of worms.

…

"Grey," I say answering my ringing cell phone.

"Its Sawyer, Sir" Luke Sawyer, Ana's CPO is on the line.

The strain in his voice is giving me cause for concern.

"What's is it Sawyer," I ask him hoping the damn paparazzi is not hounding Ana again.

"Its Miss. Steele sir, something's wrong with her, you need to get over to her apartment right away." He tells me.

I get up and race out of my office door heading to the elevator.

"Is she hurt?" I ask him wondering why the fuck he hasn't gotten her medical attention.

I'm pushing the elevator button furiously wondering what the hell is taking it so long to arrive.

"Not physically, Sir." He answers me "She seems to be in some kind of shock. She won't talk to me at all, she's just...staring."

"Shit!" I scream out.


	10. Chapter 10

chapter 10

"Ana," I call out to her as I enter her apartment. She is sitting on the floor of her living room with her knees pulled up close to her chest slowly rocking herself back and forth. I drop down on my knees close to her.

"Ana sweetheart, Can you hear me?" I gently ask her. I touch her knee and she stills herself.

"Sawyer what the hell happened?" I ask looking up at him.

"I really can't say for sure sir," he tells me. "After I swept the apartment, I let her in while I waited for her outside. It was taking her longer than usual so I came in to check on her, and this is how I found her."

"Ana, hey, it's Christian." I tell her calmly, "Can you tell me what's wrong, baby? Ana, can you talk to me?"

"Cockroaches," she whispers to me so low that I can barely hear.

"Cockroaches," I repeat and she starts to rock herself again. Taylor and Sawyer look around the apartment trying to find out where they are and what the hell could have scared her like this.

"Sir, T, you need to see this." Sawyer calls to Taylor and me from the kitchen.

"What the fuck!" I say out loud as I step into the kitchen to see roaches crawling everywhere. Huge waterbugs are fluttering their wings and flying around.

"They seem to be coming from that box." Taylor says as he eyes the medium sized package that was dropped on the floor.

"No name or address on it." He says as he carefully moves in for a closer look.

Sawyer yells out and thrashes his arms about as one of the bugs fly too close to him. Never in my life have I seen three grown men run from a room so fast.

I head back to Ana. I need to get her the fuck out of here.

"Ana, I'm going to take you home sweetheart, okay." I tell her as I bend down to gently pick her up. She wraps her arms around me but she won't look at me. She is stiff as a board as I carry her to the car. I have Sawyer drive us to Escala while Taylor stays behind to sort out what the hell that was we just left.

In the back of my mind, I'm fighting a sense of dread. I can't shake the feeling that Ana was right. Elena is swooping in to take away our happiness.

…

My mother and Gail are waiting for us at Escala. I carry Ana to our room and sit her on the bed. My mother, feeling that my stress will upset Ana, throws me out of the room, while she and Gail attend to her.

I pace outside the door for what seems like a lifetime before my mother joins me out in the hall.

"Gail is helping her to get more comfortable." My mother tells me.

"Mom is she talking? Can I see her? What's wrong with her?" I bombard her with questions.

"Christian dear, I don't mean to worry you, but I think we need to call Dr. Flynn." My mother says. "Let's see what he can make of it."

"Oh, no mother," I sigh out in fear.

"Christian you need to be strong for Ana," my mother says "now can you sit with her while I make the call?"

I get myself together and go into our room to be with Ana.

"I'll leave you two alone Mr. Grey." Gail says sadly.

"Thank you Gail," I tell her never taking my eyes off Ana sitting on the edge of the bed.

I bend down in front her.

"I love you so much Ana," I whisper to her. "I'm going to make it okay for you again, I promise you, baby."

I move to sit beside her on the bed. I put my arms around her and she leans her body into mine as I hold her tight.

The bedroom door opens and my mother escorts Flynn in. Flynn comes into Ana's view and in response to him she sits straight up and begins to rock herself again.

"Christian may I speak with you outside for a moment." Flynn asks me. I kiss Ana on the top of her head and leave her in the care of my mother.

"Can you help her Flynn?" I ask him desperate for a positive answer. We move to the great room to prevent Ana from overhearing our conversation.

"Your mother has filled me in on her medical history." Flynn says "Normally I would recommend she be sent to the psych ward."

"No she couldn't handle that." I tell Flynn.

"I agree," he says to my relief. "I think she should remain here where she feels safe for now. Exposing her to unfamiliarity could do more harm than good. Keep things quiet. Limit her contact to you and your mother. But Christian, if there is no improvement in the next few hours, we may need to admit her."

"Sir," Sawyer comes in to the room "There is Nathan Lincoln here to see Miss. Steele.

Lincoln? This can't be a damn coincidence that he shows up today of all days.

"Send him up Sawyer." I tell him.

Sawyer escorts him in, he is tall and muscular with brown hair that's a few shades lighter than Ana's, but he has the same blue eyes.

"Christian Grey," He extends his hand to me "Nice to meet you I'm.."

"Dr. Lincoln." Flynn says to him in surprise.

Recognizing him, he moves to shake his hand.

"Dr. John Flynn," he says smiling. "Good to see you again."

"Christian, this is Dr. Nathan Lincoln one of the top Psychiatrists in the country." Flynn says.

"I wouldn't go that far." Dr. Lincoln says.

"He's being modest." Flynn tells me

"Did Dr. Trevelyan call you to treat Ana?" Flynn asks him.

"What's wrong with Ana?" Dr. Lincoln asks concerned. "Where is she?"

"She's resting, Dr. Lincoln." Flynn tells him. "I know under normal circumstances you are not allowed to discuss patient care…"

"Ana's not my patient." Dr. Lincoln says. "Ana is my sister."

"Your sister," Flynn says then turns to me, realizing this is a social and not a medical call. "Forgive me, I'll just give you all some privacy."

Flynn leaves us to discuss Ana.

"What's happened to Ana?" Dr. Lincoln asks.

"Dr. Lincoln…." I start

"Nathan please." he interrupts.

"Nathan, Ana is cationic. I believe is the word for it." I tell him

"It is," he says sadly "Do you know what triggered it?"

"Someone sent her a package filled with cockroaches. I don't know what that means but apparently who ever sent it knew what it would do to her." I tell him.

"Son of a bitch!" Nathan says angrily .

"What does it mean?" I ask him.

"I only know what Ana's told me," Nathan says. "When she was locked away in the closet, one night, there was a cockroach..a waterbug in there with her. She screamed, desperate to get out but no one would come for her. She became terrified of them. After learning that fact, Elena would often use them to punish her."

"Then I was right," I think out loud. "This is Elena's doing."

"I'm sure of it." he says "that's why I'm here. News of your engagement has made its way into the papers in Boston, and if I saw it," he starts.

"Then Elena and Linc saw it too," I finish

"I need to see Ana." he says. "How long has she been like this?"

"A little over an hour?" I tell him.

"Was she okay before?" he asks "Was she under any other type of sress today?"

"No she was happy. She was joking around with me." I tell him "She was excited about getting married and opening up her bakery."

"Bakery?" he says. "She told you about that?"

"Yes earlier today." I tell him

"I see." He says simply.

…

My mother comes to stand next to me as we look on at Ana and her brother. Gone is the doctor that first came through the door and in his place is a loving brother reaching out to help his baby sister.

"Hey peanut," he says to her tenderly as he kneels down in front of her. Her reaction to him is almost immediate as she begins to cry.

God please let this be a good sign.

"I know." He wipes away her tears with his hands as he talks to her much like you would a freighted child. I grab hold of my mother, remembering how she would help me when I was afraid. "I know you're scared, but you are safe now. You're not in the closet anymore. You are here in your room with people who love you. Christian, Grace, and I are all here to protect you. There's nothing that can hurt you here. But you're scaring us something awful. We need to know you're okay.

"Roaches," she says to him "In the box, crawling, the closet, I couldn't get away."

She falls into his arms and begins to cry.

"I know, baby girl, its okay." He comforts her. "You're safe now."

"Hunter," she says looking up at him. "You're really here?"

"Yeah, I'm here." He says holding her "I'm here."

…..

Nathan gives Ana a sedative to allow her to sleep. My mother sits with her while he and I go to my office to talk.

"I'm sorry that we are meeting under these circumstances." I tell him "It was my intention to call you before I proposed to Ana. You are the closest thing she has to a father and I wanted your blessing."

"Ana has been very upset with me." Nathan confesses. "I wasn't exactly thrilled when she told me that you two had become serious."

"You are aware of my history with Elena?" I ask him.

"Ana's told me that you were involved with her, yes." Nathan says "She didn't go into detail, but it was enough to warrant concern."

"I can understand how it would." I tell him "but you can rest assured, I no longer have any ties to Elena. What I thought I felt for her is long dead. Ana called you Hunter."

"Hunter's my middle name." he explains.

"What the hell happened when she was younger Nathan?" I ask him

"Our mother died when Ana was four and I was fourteen. We were devastated, but my father was especially , he just checked out. He couldn't cope with the sadness he was feeling so he drank. I was left to care for Ana while he was out doing God knows what. Pretty soon Elena started coming around. I hated her on site, but she seemed to be good for my father. She got him sober at least. They soon married and everything was fine for a while, but then she started making me feel uncomfortable. She became very possessive of me and I hated her for it. She and I would argue and of course I was to blame, so my father sent me away to boarding school when I was seventeen. A year later, I moved to Boston to attend college and my family had all moved to Bellevue. I begged them to let Ana come and visit me. I hated leaving her behind, but they kept refusing. I would call to check on her everynight. She would say she was okay, but I didn't believe her. I never thought that she was being hurt like she was. The day I came to visit her…"

He stops and swallows hard.

"Thank you." he says to me as he takes the water I offered him. "The day I came to visit her, Elena refused to let me in. I pushed my way passed her and searched the whole house calling for Ana, but she didn't answer me. I was just about to give up when I heard a noise coming from the basement. I went down and saw Elena's…..torture room, as Ana calls it"

He stops again and puts his head in his hands as he takes a deep breath, trying to force the memory out of his mind.

"She was tied up and some guy was beating her with a belt." He continues "I knocked his ass out, picked up Ana and took her away."

"Why didn't you report it? Make them pay?" I ask him the question I've wanted to ask since Ana told me about what happened to her.

"God knows I wanted to," He says. "My first priority was to make sure Ana was okay. I was afraid that if I reported it, then she would be taken away from me and put in foster care. The last thing she needed was to get caught up in the system. I had no choice but to work with Elena and my father. I threatened to expose them to the media. To let all of their high society Bellevue neighbors know exactly who Ana and I were and what they had done to her. That was enough to convince them to give Ana up. I guess keeping her around to torture wasn't worth the embarrassment."

"Our families were close, but we had no idea." I tell him

"No one did." He says sadly


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Christian's POV

I insisted that Nathan stay upstairs in the guest room instead of the hotel where he planned to stay last night. I wanted him to be close in case Ana woke up or had a nightmare and needed him to comfort her.

I wake in the early morning before sunrise. I reach for Ana to find that she is no longer sleeping in bed next to me. I panic, until I hear the shower running. I open the bathroom door, only to be hit by a wave of hot steam. I am unable to see Ana's form in the shower. Thinking that she must have left the hot water running, I open the shower door to turn it off.

The heavy steam clears, as it floats out of the shower door, allowing me to see Ana huddled in the corner. The hot water is raining down on her as she sits hugging herself. "Fuck!" I cry out when the hot water hits my arm as I quickly turn it away from her.

"Ana," I call out to her. I turn off the water and enter the shower.

"I can't get them off," she cries. Her skin is bright and painfully pink. I turn on the water again and wait for it to turn cool before I allow it to run on Ana. "I feel them crawling on me."

"It's okay, baby," I tell her. "Let me help you." I try standing her up to get her out of the shower, but she pulls away.

"Let me stay under the water a little longer." She pleads.

"Can I stay with you," I ask her and she nods yes. "Can I hold you?" I sit down on the shower floor next to her. She uncurls herself enough to allow me to put my arms around her. I scoop her into my arms and stroke her hair as we both sit under the cool water.

I don't know how long we stay that way, before I feel her body shiver in my arms.

"Ana," I call to her gently. "Let's get you dry okay? I need to look at your skin?"

I strip off my wet boxer shorts and quickly wrap a towel around my waist.

"Does it hurt, Ana?" I ask as I make sure there are no blisters forming anywhere on her skin. She shakes her head no. I carefully pat her dry, wrap her in a towel and lead her to our bedroom.

I send Sawyer to the drug store to pick up the over the counter cream my mother suggested I use to help soothe Ana's skin.

Sawyer quickly returns. I apply the cream and dress Ana in a light sundress that doesn't rub against her skin too much.

"Ana, are you still with me, baby?" I call to her as I brush her damp hair. I stop brushing and wait for her to answer. She seems much to quiet for my taste.

"Still here." She reassures me. "I'm just enjoying the feeling of you brushing my hair."

I kiss the top of her head before I resume my gentle brushing.

"I'm sorry for freaking out on you, Christian." she whispers to me. "I feel better now."

"Don't be." I tell her. "I can't say I blame you." I tell her, remembering the kitchen filled with cockroaches and how freaked out Taylor, Sawyer and I got.

"Did Nathan tell you about the roaches?" she asks me.

"Yes, he told me a little bit about it." I tell her sadly.

"I was trapped with one in the closet. I screamed for my dad. I screamed all night, but he never came. I was so scared." She says. "The next morning when my dad came to let me out, I ran into his arms and cried. I told him about the bug and asked him why he didn't come and help me. He looked so upset. He picked me up, held me close and told me he was sorry for everything. He promised he would make everything better. I asked him why he wouldn't take me away, but he never answered me.

Elena walked in and saw him comforting me. She got so angry. She pulled me out of his arms and told him I was too old for such nonsense. She yelled at with him for coddling me and he backed down. He walked away and left me with her. From that day on whenever I was bad, she would punish me with the bugs. She would tie me down and let them crawl on me."

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart." I whisper to her. I am finding it hard to find a calm voice. My anger has grown with each word she spoke. On impulse, I braid her hair and twist it in a bun.

"I had but it so far out of my mind, but then yesterday at the apartment…" she begins but stops and takes a deep breath. "I was so happy when I left work. I was excited about the bakery and I was running over wedding dates in my head to talk to you about later." She smiles at the memory.

"Sawyer had made sure the apartment was empty and waited for me outside. I had brought in my mail and set in on the coffee table. That's when I noticed the package sitting there." She says.

"It was already inside?" I ask her trying not to sound alarmed at the fact that someone had actually put it inside the apartment.

"I thought maybe Jose brought it in. I didn't have any address or anything on it. But it had a note that said 'Best of luck with your recent engagement. I'm sure your fiancé will find this useful.' It wasn't signed, but I was curious. I went into the kitchen to get a knife to open the box…and they were everywhere. I tried to scream but I couldn't. I ran into the living room but I just, I don't know what happened after that…"

"It's okay baby," I tell her gently. "You're safe now."

She gets up quickly trying to shake the memory of yesterday.

"How did you learn how to that," she asks, looking at herself in the mirror. Fuck! I refuse to tell her that Elena liked when I braided her hair. The memory of my time with her is making me sick to my stomach. She must have seen the repulsed expression on my face because she doesn't press for an answer.

"You're going to be late for work." She says changing the subject.

"No I'm working from home today." I tell her.

"But you have that meeting this morning with The Rochester Group." She reminds me. Fuck if I didn't forget. "Ros is counting on you to be there."

"I'm not leaving you alone after what happened yesterday, "I tell her. "Ros can handle it alone."

"Christian, I feel bad enough," She tells me. "The last thing I want is for your work to suffer."

"Ana…." I start to tell her that she has nothing to feel bad about, but she interrupts me.

"Please Christian," she begs me. "Besides it will give me some time to spend with Hunter."

"Fine." I relent, liking the idea of her being with her brother. "Promise you'll call me if you need me okay?"

"I promise." She says.

"Ana, what did you do with the note?" I ask her.

"I left it on the kitchen table." she says after a minute.

"Christian, please, I don't ever want to go back there." she says upset.

"Never," I whisper to her, taking her into my arms. "You never have to go back there."

…..

Ana's POV

"Hey Hunt." I greet my brother as I sit next to him at the breakfast bar.

"Hey peanut." He greets me back. "I was just about to come and get you. Ms Jones made you pancakes." I smile as he slides my plate over. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." I tell him simply.

"Christian is very worried about you." he says to me.

"I know." I sigh. "I feel bad. I should have warned him that this could happen."

"Why didn't you?" Hunter asks me concerned as to why I felt I needed to hide this from him and upset that I set him up to deal with it without warning.

"I just wanted to be a regular person for once." I tell him. "When I'm with him, I feel so strong and in control. I was stupid to think, I wouldn't' slip back again."

"Ana, you are a regular person," Hunt tells me. "Everyone has struggles in some form or another. You just have to get a handle on them. I want you to start therapy again. I know a few doctor's here I can recommend to you."

"Okay," I tell him. "I think it that would be a good idea to have someone to talk to about it."

"I want to prescribe you something.." he starts, but I interrupt.

"No drugs," I tell him. "You know how out of it they make me feel. I'm getting married. I want to experience it all. I don't want to be a zombie walking around in my own life."

"Ana, there is nothing wrong with taking something to help you," he tells me. "Especially now that things are changing for you. Your routine has been grossly disrupted."

"No," I tell him. "I've been dealing with the changes just fine. I welcome them. I'm happy, Hunter."

"I can see that," he says with a smile. "But what if this happens again? What if it's worse?"

"It won't happen again," I tell him. "I know how to avoid the triggers and it's not like I'm going to be opening up any more bug packages."

"Ana about that," he begins. "Elena, knows you're getting married to Christian. Its in all the papers in Boston."

"I knew it." I whisper. "I knew she was coming for me."

"We won't let her get you again," Hunter says.

"We," I smile at him and he rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, we'll I'm not all the way team Christiana yet, but I'm getting there," he jokes.

"Christiana," I laugh.

"That's what they are calling you two in Boston." He shrugs not understanding it himself.

"Oh wow, wait until I tell Christian that our names are 'shipped." I laugh genuinely for the first time since yesterday.

….

Christian's POV

I end my meeting with Ros and the Rochester Group and head back to my office.

As I walk, I'm stopped by staff saying hello and telling me to say hello to Ana for them. I can't help, but smile. Before Ana, none of these people would have dared approach me, yet alone speak. I can't but wonder if the change is in them or me. Who the hell am I kidding, I know I've changed. More than once, Ros or Andrea have caught me grinning for absolutely no reason. Hell, I'm even finding Olivia tolerable.

I sit down at my desk and let guilt overtake me. Ana has brought so much joy in my life. I hate that I can't give her some of that back. Right now I would settle for giving her some peace of mind.

Taylor sent the box and now the note to Welch to see if his team can make heads or tails of it. I already now they won't find a damn thing. Elena's evil, but she sure as hell's not stupid. The only thing I can do until she surfaces, which I'm sure she will, is cut off her legs. I already spoke to Barney and he is quietly looking into the Lincoln's finances and both he and Welch are looking around trying to find anything I can use to bring her down.

Suddenly, I remember something Ana said about her father and I suddenly switch gears. Something about him and his role in this just doesn't add up. How could he be so loving and caring with Ana, but leave her in the hands of Elena. I'm sure he knew what she was doing to her. Linc didn't come around too often while I was growing up, but when I did see him, he never struck me as I weak man that would allow someone to abuse his child and do nothing about it.

I read his latest background check and I note the address of Linc Lumber, now located in Boston. I think it's time I had a little talk with good ole Linc.

I pick up the phone and call Taylor

"File a flight plan," I tell him. "I need to go to Boston."


	12. Chaper 12

Chapter 12

Christian's POV

"Hey, you're home early," Ana says as I walk over to kiss her.

"I wasn't getting anything done, so I just called it a day." I tell her. "Where's Nathan?"

"He's upstairs getting ready to go to some kind of mental health conference." She tells me. I smile at the funny face she makes.

"Ana," I begin to tell her. "I'm heading out to Boston in a few hours."

I watch as her face falls.

"What could you possible need to do in Boston, Christian," she asks seriously.

"I need to speak to your father," I tell her.

"No," she says, as she jumps up from the place she was resting at on the couch.

"Ana please understand why I have to do this," I beg her.

"I understand fully why you're doing it," she tells me. "I just think it is a waste of time and energy. What could he possibly tell you that you could actually believe to be true?"

"I need to hear from him," I tell her. "Even if he's lying, I still need to know what possessed that man to allow Elena to do what she did. How could he not protect you?"

"You don't have to go all the way to Boston for that, I can tell you the answer right now. It's because he didn't give a damn." She tells me bitterly.

"I think Christian is right Ana." Nathan says to her, as we both turn to look at him. "Our father has never spoken much about it, but …..I always got the feeling that he was hiding something."

"You speak to him," she asks her brother in surprise.

"Once," he answers. "When he first arrived in Boston, he came to my office to talk about you."

"What did he say," I ask him.

"He just asked about how Ana was doing, and how much he missed her." he tells me. "The way he spoke about her at the time, I took it as a threat, but now thinking back on it, maybe it was a warning."

"How so," Ana asked before I had a chance to.

"Elena always knew we lived in Boston," he begins "I believe the reason she moved there was to go after Ana."

"Your dad coming to talk to you, tipped you off," I said to him.

"Yes," he verifies. "I moved Ana back to Seattle the next day. Well, in any case, I'm off. Ana, I'll see you later. Christian, have a safe trip."

"Are you going to be okay here by yourself?" I ask her, after Nathan leaves. "I can delay, until your brother comes back."

"No, Gail is here and your mom and Mia are on their way over to finish up plans for Coping Together." She tells me. "How long will you be gone?"

"I'll be home tomorrow night," I tell her taking her into my arms.

"I don't like this, Christian," she whispers to me, "just hurry and come back home to me okay?"

"I will," I say as I comfort her. "I love you."

"I love you," she tells me.

…

Taylor and I check into our Suite at the Fairmont Hotel in Boston around ten p.m. I call Ana to let her know I made it safely. I spend the next hour talking to her and reassuring her that everything will work out before I grab dinner and call it a night.

After Taylor and I make it pass the joke Linc has for security, we wait for the receptionist to announce our arrival. Against his better judgment, Taylor waits for me while I go have a little chat with my old pal Linc.

"Christina Grey," he says standing to greet me. "I knew it wouldn't be long before you darkened my doorstep. What is it about my women you find so appealing, first my wife, now my daughter? Or is it me you're trying to screw?"

"Linc, good to see you're still the same narcissistic egomaniac after all these years," I tell him. "I didn't come here to ruin your little business, and you can keep that old battle ax you're fucking, so relax. I just want to know one thing: Why? Why did you let Elena abuse your daughter?"

"Did Ana, send you here to ask me this," he asks me. "Is she in Boston with you? I'd like to see her."

"I'm not letting you anywhere near her," I warn him. "And no she didn't send me here to ask you a damn thing, she wants nothing to do with you. I'm here to satisfy my own curiosity."

"And what's in this for me," he ask me.

"Do you want to keep this little company you have here, Linc." I tell him holding out my arms and looking around. I know your ass is hanging on by a thread already. Do you want me to swallow you up? One phone call, Linc, one phone call and can ruin you."

"Well look at you," he sneers at me. "All grown up and still so full of cum. You think this shit means anything to me? My life was over the day I lost her."

He unlocks his desk, takes out a framed photo and hands it to me.

"My Carla Rose," he says to me, the raw emotion evident in his voice. He takes a bottle of whiskey and a glass from the same locked drawer drinks it.

I smile at the picture of Ana's mother. It's a black and white photo, but her radiance still shines through. I can see where Ana gets her warmth. Thank god, she had her for a mother, if only for a short while.

"Its obvious you still love her," I say seeing a way in. I soften a bit to change my tactic. "She was a very beautiful woman."

"She was," he says. I hand him back the photo and he smiles brightly at her. "She was my world."

"What happened, Linc," I tell him taking a seat. Good old Flynn would be proud seeing me now.

"She happened," he tells me, pouring another drink. No wonder his business is in the toilet, if this is his normal nine a.m. activity. "Rose, happened."

"Ana," I correct him.

"I don't know what her brother was thinking, giving her that ridiculous name." He sneers at me. But I remain unfazed. "She's the reason I lost my Carla Rose."

"Ana," I say again.

"Yes! Shit can't you say anything else." He yells at me pissed off. "I don't know what they see in you."

"Why are you blaming Ana for her mother dying," I ask him.

"Dying," he hisses. "Is that what they told you she did? They told you she died? That makes it sound so peaceful, so tranquil, so mundane even, compared to what really happened."

"What happed, Linc," I tell him getting pissed off and frustrated now.

"It was Rose's birthday," he spits out her name. "We were having a party. Carla was so excited. She spent weeks going over every detail. She made Rose a dress, one of those pretty princess fancy ones. I told her to just go buy one of those damn things they sell in every store, but no, that just wouldn't do. It had to be special for her little girl, and she was right, it was a beautiful dress. The party was about to start, so Carla went to her bakery to get Rose's cake. She was afraid that if she'd brought it in any sooner, it would ruin the surprise. I remember that moment so clearly now right before she left. She said something to me before she walked out the door. I couldn't hear what she said, she was drowned out by Hunt and that damn video game he insisted on blaring at full volume. She blew me a kiss and then turned around and left."

"Did she make it back in time," I ask him, already knowing she didn't but still not knowing why.

"I kept calling the bakery, but there was no answer," he says." It was closed that day because of the party. I knew something was wrong after an hour had past and she didn't return. Our neighbor was a police officer. He sent a car over to go and check the bakery and then take the route she would take. Maybe her car broke down or something. That's usually what you think, no big deal, just some type of minor delay."

"But that wasn't the case was it," I ask him gently.

"They found her in the back room. She had been robbed, raped, and beaten to death."

"Dear God," I whisper to myself. My hear aches for Nathan and Ana and even a little for him, but my question is still left unanswered."

"I understand now, how Elena weaseled her way in," I tell him, "she's good at preying on the vulnerable. What I don't get, is why you allowed her to torture Ana."

"BECAUSE IT WAS HER FAULT I LOST MY CARLA ROSE!" he yells out.

"You blamed Ana, for her mother's tragedy," I ask him in disbelief.

"Yes, I blame her, if it wasn't for that spoiled little brat, my Carla would have just had a nice simple homemade cake, she wouldn't have had to go to the bakery that day!" he reasoned. "She would be here today."

"You don't fucking know that," I tell him,"and even if that's the case how in the hell did you twist a mother trying to do something special for her little girl's birthday into something so horrible? Are you telling me that you allowed, Elena to torture Ana, because you wanted to punish her for her mother's murder?"

"You're damn right I wanted to punish her," he tells me. "I wanted her to suffer as much as I was suffering because of her. I wanted her to feel every ounce of pain she caused me."

"Fuck Linc, you are a sick bastard," I tell him trying to keep myself from vomiting at the sight of him.

"I love my daughter," he tells me. "A part of me knew I was wrong. When she would cry out in fear for me to comfort her, I wanted to, god knows I did, but every time I looked at her, all I saw was her mother and what she'd done to her and I would get so angry, I would hand her over to Elena."

"My God," I breathe out in disgust as I get up from my chair to walk the room.

"I was torn," he talks more to himself at this point than to me. "One day I had a moment of clarity. Rose ran to me and I picked her up in my arms. She told me about some bug that scared her. She said that she'd been calling for me to help her all night. 'Why didn't you come, daddy,' she asked me. 'You use to come and get the scary bugs all the time to make me not scared. Why didn't you come, daddy?' She asked me to take her away. I told her I was sorry and that I would make it all better. I left her with Elena, but I had my secretary call her brother and she told him to come and check on his sister."

"Going to hell, would be too good for you, Linc," I tell him.

"You think so Mr. Self Righteous," he spits out at me as he takes a folder from his drawer. "Look at this and tell me that again."

"Jesus," I breathe out as I open the folder to see police photos of Carla's crime scene. I turn through picture after picture of her beaten body as she lay dead on the cold floor.

"Did you ever tell Ana any of this shit," I ask him.

"No," he says to my relief. "Her brother would never forgive me, so I never told either of them. I just kept it to myself. "I love Hunt, that boy is my pride, I couldn't let Elena get him. I knew she had a thing for young boys, so I put him away in school."

"And you're proud of yourself for that." I tell him.

"Damn right I am," he tells me. "And I gave him his sister, I didn't fight him on the custody."

"Do you know Elena is harassing Ana now," I ask him.

"I don't talk much to my wife anymore, I don't know what the hell she's doing," he tells me. "Last I saw her, she was in been fucking her bosses' fourteen year old son."

"You know I have to ruin you for this, don't you Linc." I ask him. "You know I have to make sure, the likes of you never hurt Ana again?"

"I figured that was the case," he tells me with a smile. "She's lucky to have you, Christian, I always knew you'd be something special once you left Elena alone."

"I wish I could say the same for you, Linc." I tell him.

"I've been waiting over ten years to make this right," he tells me. "I always thought it would be Rose herself that came to me, but its right that it's you. You can help soften the blow of all of this for her. Now if you're smart, and I know that you are, you will never tell her any of this shit. I think I've hurt her enough, don't you?"

"So now I'm the one to carry your filthy little secret." I hiss at him.

"And that's my fuck you to you," he laughs at me. "Does she need anything else from me?"

"Just one thing," I tell him. "That," I say, pointing to the picture of Carla. "It's the only one left in existence after Elena destroyed the others and I know both Ana and Nathan would want it. It will go a long way in righting your wrong."

He turns on his shredder and begins to shred the photos of Carla's crime scene. I wait ready to attack if he even looks like he's going to shred the framed picture of her.

"I hope it brings them some type of peace," he says handing me the photo. "She has done nothing but haunt my every moment."

"That's the least you deserve, seeing as how you've nearly destroyed her daughter," I tell him. "But you didn't succeed Linc. Ana is strong. She lives and she loves and she has peace in her life. I feel sorry for you and what you lost in Carla, Linc, but not the horrendous way in which you chose to deal with it."

He nods his head unfazed.

I move to leave. As I open the door he calls to me

"Whatever sympathy you feel for me is ill placed," I hear him say as I stop to listen. "You see, I didn't just allow Elena to torture my daughter. I begged her to do it."

I leave his office without acknowledging his final words to me. I sprint walk to the lobby. I need to get out of here before I do something I know deep down I won't regret. Taylor seeing me coming, gets up to meet me with concern on his face. I shake my head to let him know I left Linc the way I found him.

And that's when we hear it.

Taylor and I just stand there starring at each other, knowing what that sound meant. The receptionists, the security guard, and a few workers that were around, race to Linc's office to investigate. Taylor and I wait for what we knew is coming. That gut wrenching scream you hear when someone discovers something unimaginably heinous.

Bastard that he was left me with the burden of being the last one he spoke to before he ate his gun. Knowing him, I'm sure he planned it that way. Then the realization of what he said before hits me cold. All of the strength leaves my legs and I fall to the floor. He didn't plan for it to be me.

He was waiting for Ana.


	13. Chapter 13

Enjoy!

Chapter 13

Christian's POV

Taylor and I stay until the police arrive. Me being the last person to see Linc alive, I knew I would be a person of interest. I answer their questions honestly and to their satisfaction. Seeing as how I was standing in a lobby full of witnesses when the gun was fired, they allowed me to return to Seattle with the understanding that I would come back to Boston should the need arise.

The investigation delayed me by a few hours. So I decided to say hello to some old ghost of mine that's been haunting me recently.

"Hello Elena," I greet her as she answers her door. " Are you going to let me in?"

"Have you come here to hurt me," she asks, eyeing me through the door she's cracked open.

"Do I have a reason to hurt you," I ask her pushing the door open.

"It was all Linc's doing," she says letting me in.

I walk into the livingroom of the small, modest two bedroom home. It is a far cry from the mega mansion she once shared with Linc in Bellevue when I knew her then. The same can be said for the woman standing before me. Gone is the beauty I thougth I loved not so long ago. Now she is just a tired and run down version of who she once was. The time has not been kind to her.

"I am aware of that. But do you expect me to believe that you got no enjoyment out of torturing a small defenseless child," I ask her. "Bullshit!"

"Its true," she says. "I had no use for her, I had you and all the others."

"Ana was locked away in that house while you and I..." I stop when I feel myself losing control. "How long were she and I down there together."

"It was only a few months before her brother came and got her." she says. "I swear."

"And the men you let hurt her," I ask her.

"Linc wanted her to suffer," she says. "He was a sick son of a bitch. I didn't have the stomach for it any longer, so..."

"So you let them do it for you," I finish for her.

"I had no choice," she says. "Linc caught me with one of the neighbor's boys and he threatened to turn me in. I couldn't go to jail Christian."

"You are a sick, twisted bitch." I tell her. "You fucking disgust me. Why the fuck shouldn't I end you right now?"

"Look at me," she says in fear. "Look around you, I have nothing. I'm a shadow of who I once was. You can't hurt me anymore than my life already has."

"You're life hasn't stopped you from torturing Ana," I accuse her.

"I haven't been in contact with her since she left Seattle with her brother," she tells me. Linc never told me where she was and I didn't want to know! If anyone was torturing her, it was Linc. He was obsessed with her. He would have done anything to get her to see him again."

"He's dead now, Elena," I tell her. "If we even get a postcard that looks suspicious, the devil himself won't be able to save you from me. Did you know Linc was going to kill himself?"

"I'm the one that bought him the gun," She grins. "That bastard's worth more dead to me than he ever was alive."

God help me. I need to get the hell out of Boston.

I didn't arrive back in Seattle until early morning.

Riding in the elevator at Escala, I try to think of the best way to go about telling Ana about her father. Should I bear the brunt of his confession and never tell Ana the truth? What if I tell her, will she be able to process it and then move past it? If she finds out some other way, will she ever forgive me for keeping it from her? How do I tell her that her father sent her that package to try and lure her to him, so that he may do God knows what to her? As the elevator doors open to the penthouse, I'm no closer to the answers I seek.

"You're back," Ana says as she comes running in to my arms. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, sweetheart," I tell her as I hold her tight.

She barely lets me get settled in before she starts asking question that I'm afraid to give answers to.

"So," she says looking at me expectantly, wandering why I'm not telling her what I know she's been waiting to hear. "What did he say?"

"Ana, I really don't know how to tell you this," I start out. "I think I should talk to Nathan first before…"

"Just say it Christian," she demands.

"Your father, Ana he….something terrible happened to him, baby….. he took his own life." I tell her.

"He...hhow," she asks.

"He shot himself in his office, right after I left," I told her.

"I..." she starts but doesn't say anything more.

"I'm sorry Ana," I tell her.

"I really don't know how to feel about this," she confesses. "I know I'm supposed to be sad that my father is dead, but I don't know if I feel that way."

"Sweetheart, you don't have to figure out your feelings right now," I tell her. "There's really no right way to feel. Whatever your feelings, or lack thereof, is okay."

She nods her head. I pull her into my arms.

"Where is he now," she asks. "I mean what are they going to do with him?"

"I suppose that would be up to Elena," I tell her. "If you want me to find out for you…"

"No," she simply says. "Did you at least get the answers you wanted before he…"

"Yes, we talked," I tell her. I hold her a bit tighter and kiss the top of her head.

"Just tell me Christian," she sits up and looks at me.

"Ana, I don't see the point in telling you any of this," I tell her. "It was a mistake me going there. You were right."

"But you did go and now you know something," she says to me. "You can't just un-know it Christian. I need to know and you have to tell me."

"Ana, I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but your father was manipulative bastard and I don't believe a word he said." I try and reason but she's not having any of it. "It's only going to hurt you Ana."

"I'm sure it will," she says, "but it would hurt me more to have this come back and get me later. What if Elena knows? What if he planned something to be given to me after his death? It will be just like it was with the roaches. Please Christian. Don't leave me exposed to be hurt again. At least this way, I will have some defense."

"I would feel better if we could wait for Nathan," I tell her.

"That bad huh," she sighs.

"It's just…" I start and then stop.

"You're scared," she says. "I might go all zombie quiet on you again. I promise you I won't. I'm prepared. If it becomes too much to hear, I will ask you to stop. Just trust me."

"Your father, he talked about your mother and the day she died," I begin. I'm racking my brain, trying to think of a way to spin this to make it tolerable, but I come up with nothing.

"Go on," she gently prods me as she takes my hand. She's supporting me through this when it should be the other way around.

"She died on your birthday," I tell her and she frowns.

"I don't remember," she says.

"She made you a dress," I tell her. "A…."

"Pretty princess dress," she says, suddenly remembering.

"You remember," I ask her.

"I remember she took me to her office in her bakery, and let me try it on for a fitting. I had to keep my eyes closed so I wouldn't see it and spoil the surprise. I closed my eyes real tight." she says lost in a memory. She tightly closes her eyes and smiles wide. "I was sure not to peak because she had promised to let me have one of the big oatmeal cookies she'd just made."

"Are you okay, baby," I ask her. I wipe the tear from her eyes. She nods her head yes.

"I'd forgotten all about it," she says quietly. "I use to try hard to remember her, but the memories would just cloud over. I can't even remember what she looks like."

"Do you want to see a picture of her," I ask her. I rush to my bag to retrieve it.

"Your father gave it to me to give to you and Nathan," I tell her handing her the framed photo.

She takes it from my hand and gasps as she looks at her mother for the first time since Elena came into her life and destroyed all that was good in it. I held on to her as she hugged her mother's photo to her heart and sobbed uncontrollably.

I gave her all the comfort I could until her crying subsided and she could look at the photo once again.

"She was very beautiful," I tell her.

"I couldn't remember her really," she tells me. "But I remembered she smelled of the bakery and how she would let me go to work with her all the time because I loved it there. It was like I was in a gingerbread house with all those sweets."

"She died on my birthday…how," she asks. Fuck how am I suppose to tell her this part.

"There was a break in at the bakery," I tell her. "Your mother was there and…..uh….she interrupted them and they killed her."

"But the party was at my house, not at the bakery," she says. "Why would she be there? Was she called in to work?"

"No, baby, she wasn't," I tell her. "She needed to get something from there though, Ana she was there to get your cake and she was only supposed to be there for a minute…"

"Sh..she died because of me," she says.

"No," Fuck! "No, baby, no that's not right, please don't think that." I tell her desperately.

"But my father thought that," she says. "That's what you don't want to tell me isn't it Christian? He blamed me?"

"Baby," I try to calm her down.

"That's why he never helped…..he hated me because he blamed me." she says. "I always wondered why he...he just changed so much. He stopped caring about me and that's why, because of what I did to my mother."

"Ana, listen to me." I grab hold of her shoulders and force her to listen. "You didn't cause that to happen."

She shakes herself out of my grasp.

"Look at her," I hold the photo of her mother up so she can see it. "Do you think she would want you to feel this way about what happened to her? It would break her heart to know that you are blaming yourself for something neither one of you had any control over. Your mother loved you. You know that to be true. Please don't taint her memory by feeling this way. Baby, your just getting the memories of her back please don't do this."

"I know you're right," she says finally. "It's just so hard not to feel guilty."

"How did she die," she asks. "What did they do to her?"

"No, Ana," I tell her.

"Christian, I need to know," she says.

"Not right now, you don't," I tell. "You've had enough."

"I can decide when I've had enough," she tells me defiantly.

"Ana, I've had nearly as much therapy as you have. I know when someone's reached their limit." I tell her. "You are not ready to hear that."

"Fine," she says venomously and then sighs with concession "you're right."

"I'm sorry, what." I tell her.

"I said you're right, Christian." she repeats it. "Enjoy it while it lasts."

"Oh I intend to take full advantage," I tell her as I pat the spot next to me on the couch. She comes and sits down next to me.

"What else do you remember about your mother," I ask her.

"Her hair," she says. "It was long and I don't think she liked it that way. She tried to keep it pulled back but it was still always in her face. She would let me play in it. She and Hunt would be sitting on the floor in his room playing video games, and I would be busy behind her combing her hair. She would bribe me awake every morning."

"She did," I say surprised.

"Yeah, I was never a morning person." She tells me.

"I'm aware," I say to her and she laughs. "How would she get you to wake up?"

"She would come into my room and open the shades so I could see outside. She would tell me about all the wonderful things that were out there just waiting for me to find them." She says. "By the time she was done, I couldn't wait to get up and get started. We would spend a lot of time in her flower garden. The sunflowers were her favorite..."

I pull her into my arm as I listen to all the wonderful memories of her mother. Thanking God once again that she had her.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

It's been six weeks since my trip to Boston. The days following, Ana had been plagued with nightmares. She'd often wake up screaming to the point where she was inconsolable. Nathan had been pressuring her to start taking medication to aid in her anxiety, but she refused. She still won't even tell me what the nightmares were about, but I have some ideas. I'm relieved that at least she does see a therapist now twice a week, and she seems to be helping her.

She spends a lot of time focusing on the wedding and opening up her bakery soon after. I offered to hire a wedding planner, but Ana wants nothing to do with it. She insists on doing it herself. I worry that it all might be too much, so I call in reinforcements: its Mom, Mia, and Elliot to the rescue.

Mia and my mother are helping Ana with all of the details of the wedding. Every other day they pop in with arms full of color schemes, invitation samples, bridal magazines for her to choose from.

Nightly our bed is covered with samples as we sit looking them over. Ana wants to include me in the decision making process, but I really don't care about the color scheme or the invitations or even my tux for that matter. As long as she's not dressing me in hot pink, I'm fine with it. But to be honest, even in hot pink, I'd show up to marry her, wearing it proudly.

Happily I am now weeded out of the smaller details and am now only helping with the food, music, and guest list. Ana and I want a small intimate wedding, but as we go though our list of people to invite, we fear that might not happen. She asks if I want to include business associates and I tell her absolutely not. This is our wedding, not some damn hobnob work event. Of course that's shot to hell when she insists on inviting Raff Myers from WSU. Hopefully we can ease him in without anyone else I work with getting wind of it. So far we've been able to keep it all hush hush, but I know the moment our wedding date is announced, all bets are off.

I gave Mom my black Amex card with the authorization to do whatever she has to do to get Ana whatever it is she wants. Mom will get it done. Underneath that demure exterior lays a tigress that's not afraid to use her claws.

Elliot has the task of finding a prime location for the bakery. Since he knows what to look for and what all it will take to get the building up to code, we let him have at it. He already knows that time and cost is not an issue.

Dad was a little put out that he didn't get a phone call to help, so I threw him a bone and put him in charge of planning my bachelor party, much to Elliot's chagrin.

I still laugh at him and Dad racing into the great room, each trying to be the first to speak to me.

"Bro, are you seriously going to put the geriatric in charge of a bachelor party," Elliot speaks first, winning the race. "I'm pulling rank, as your best man, it is my job to plan the party."

"Well I am the father of the groom," my dad counters. "My rank out ranks yours. Besides, I already told Grandma Trevelyan she could pop out of the wedding cake."

Elliot and I both groan, as I try to choke down the bile that's risen to my throat.

….

Nathan just returned from Boston. He spent a week tying up loose ends. He moved his practice to Seattle and he wanted to be sure his patients handled the transition to their new psychiatrists well. He also tied up loose ends with his father.

Linc had several insurance policies. That and the sell of what was left of Linc Lumber, totaled close to two million dollars. Elena was beside herself with anger to learn that Linc had secretly changed his benefactors to Nathan and Ana. Everything Linc owned had been boxed up and Nathan had it delivered to Escala. Elena had the good sense not to send it herself considering my warning the last time we spoke.

Nathan and Ana spend an afternoon looking through the contents of the box which was filled with mostly sentimental things from their lives that Linc had managed to hold on to. Copies of an old picture of Carla and Linc and a picture of Nathan holding Ana when she was a baby, now joins the family portraits we have on our wall. But the one I will cherish the most, the one I keep on my desk in my home office, is a picture of Ana, as a little girl standing fearlessly and defiantly on her swing.

Their mother's wedding rings were also included in the belongings. I asked Ana if she wanted to wear her mother's engagement ring instead of the one I gave her, but she decided to give it to Nathan. I think that was her not so subtle hint to let him know he needs to marry his girlfriend who just agreed to relocate to Seattle with him. I think it's because she has wedding fever.

...

"What do you think about September for the wedding," I ask her as we lay in bed flipping through the calendar.

We have decided on a Fall wedding since we both love the season. I suggested September, but Ana says its bad luck to get married so close to your own birthday. I think she just made that up, but I conceded. "Okay, October then, that will give us about four months."

"I think that would be a good month," she agrees as she flips to view October's calendar, "what about the eleventh? Ten eleven, can't get any luckier than that?"

"It's a date!" I tell her, taking her into my arms and kissing her. In just a few months she will be Mrs. Christian Grey!

APOV

I called Grace and Mia this morning to let them know the date and time we decided on. They are just as excited as Christian and I was. We decided to meet up today at the bridal shop to look at the selection of dresses that just came in. I first decide to see Christian.

I make my way to the elevator at GEH. I want to surprise him with lunch. Andrea has cleared his schedule for the next two hours so we won't be disturbed.

As I walk to the elevator I am stopped by Barney and Olivia.

"Ana," Barney says excited. "How are you?"

"Hi, Barney," I greet him with a smile. "Things are going good."

Olivia screams excitedly and takes my hands as she looks me over.

"My outfit," she says proudly, getting a look at what I'm wearing.

"Of course," I tell her. "I still follow your blog."

"Are you coming back to work with us?" Barney asks me hopeful.

"No," I tell him, "I'm just here to visit Christian. I'm having lunch delivered."

"Aw, how romantic," Olivia gushes.

I step into the elevator.

"I'll see you guys later," I tell them.

I make it to Christian's office and open the door.

"Darn," I say as I already see the food has arrived, "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Oh I was surprised sweetheart," he says getting up to kiss me hello.

"I missed you", he says cupping my breast.

"I'm up here, Christian," I tell him, directing his eyes back to my face.

He begins to nuzzle my neck.

"You keep this up and our food is not going to be fit to eat," I tell him.

"Don't worry baby," he tells me. "The heat I feel coming off of you right now will keep it nice and warm."

"Wow," I say laughing and brushing him away. "I'm supposed to meet your mom and Mia at the bridal shop. Do you really want me smelling like sex? Don't answer that!"

"What is it," Christian asks me, as we clean up the mess we made from lunch. "Why are you smiling?"

"I'm afraid to say," I tell him. "I don't want to risk something happening to it."

"Something happening to what," he ask me in concern.

"This," I gesture between the two of us. "I'm afraid to say it out loud."

"Say it," he whispers to me.

"I'm just happy," I tell him truthfully. "I never thought I could be this happy."

"I know the feeling, sweetheart," he tells me. He looks down in annoyance at his ringing cell phone.

"Grey," he answers the way he does when he doesn't know who it is. He looks into my eyes as he listens. Unfortunately I can only hear his end of the conversation.

"When," he asks looking at his watch. "Yes, she has step children, but no, they are estranged and her husband recently past away. There is no next of kin listed? I don't understand why she would name me. She and I ended our relationship years ago. I'm going to hand the phone over to my assistant, give her the information and I will get back to you. Yes, I understand I will call you before the week's end."

He leaves the office and comes back without his cell phone.

"What," I ask him as he stands starring at me.

"Elena," he says.

"What about her," I ask him, really not wanting to know.

I knew it! Every time I admit I'm happy something bad always happens! She always knows!

"She's dead," he says. "She was….having an….she was sleeping with the teenage son of her boss and he found out about it. She was found naked in bed…mutilated."

"She's dead," I whisper out in disbelief.

"Yes," he tells me. "Ana, sweetheart, I know what you're thinking, but this has nothing to do with you admitting you're happy. Okay, please, Ana don't think that way."

"I'm not," I assure him. "Not at all, I thought you were going to say she was on her way here to hurt me, or that she'd done something to hurt me. All my life, I've been looking over my shoulder, waiting for her to get me, but now…"

"You don't have to do that anymore," he finishes for me.

"Am I wrong to feel this relieved about someone dying in such a horrible way," I ask him.

"No sweetheart," he tells me pulling me into his arms. "She tortured you for years when you were defenseless against her. It's not wrong to want to feel safe and to feel that now that she's gone."

"I'm glad she's gone, but I would never wish that on anyone," I tell him.

"Um, Sweetie, I know this isn't a good time, but Andrea told me that since we're both here, the employees want to reveal who won the raffle with a little engagement party. We can always reschedule it."

"Are you kidding," I tell him smiling. "I don't want to reschedule. I want to celebrate with them. I'm not going to let my past run my life anymore. My dad is gone and Elena is gone. I won't give them another moment of my life."

I scream in surprise as he picks me up and spins me around.

"I love you," he exclaims.

"I love you," I tell him holding him tight.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Christian's POV

Ana and I make our way to the first floor conference hall where many of my staff waits for us to start the celebration. Ana smiles as we enter the room and see the large crowd waiting for us. We receive a round of applause and shouts of congratulations.

Everyone was anxious to see who won the poll and I was happy to announce that Clarence, GEH's head of maintenance for the past three years, guessed the right wedding date and won. Needless to say he was beside himself with joy, especially since his wife is due to give birth any day now with twins. I secretly doubled the amount.

"Speech! Speech," everyone chanted, once champagne was done being passed around.

"Well," I begin, "I would first like to thank you all for coming and celebrating with us today. I would also like to thank this beautiful woman for agreeing to put up with me for the rest of her life!"

"God, help her," Ros bellows out and everyone including myself laughs.

"Oh, I can't wait for the wedding," Olivia says, bouncing up and down with excitement.

Ana and I look at each other. I can see that, like me, it never dawned on her anyone from GEH would want to come. Now upon thinking about it, it makes sense that they would, since they've been here watching it all happen between she and I from the beginning.

"Small weddings are overrated anyway," Ana whispers to me and I smirk at her.

…

"I don't know how I'm going to fit into any kind of dress with all that food and champange I just had," Ana tells me as I walk her to the SUV. Luke is following discretely behind us.

"Sweetheart, no need to worry," I tell her. "You could show up in a burlap sack and still be the most beautiful bride I've ever seen."

"When did you become so wonderful," she asks me wrapping her arms around my shoulders and kissing me.

"I think it has something to do with this girl that rammed into the front of my car a while back," I tease her.

"Oh she must be pretty cool," she says and I nod my head.

I head back up to my office and call the first funeral home I can find in Boston to have them dispose of Elena's body repectfully. I have Andrea place an announcement about her passing in her home town of Topeka, Kansas as well as Seattle, just in case she has family or friends that might want to claim her. When it's all said and done, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that both Linc and Elena are no longer a threat to Ana. Now that she no longer has to look over her shoulder, we can focus on our future.

….

One Week Later

I got a call from Elliot a little while ago wanting Ana and me to take a look at a building he thinks would be perfect for Ana's bakery. I give Sawyer the address and have him drop her off so that we can ride home together.

"So what do you guys think," he asks us when we are done looking around.

It is in a prime location. The spot is far enough away from downtown in a little area that is being developed. I knew the moment Ana saw it she loved it.

We give him the go ahead to make the purchase and get started on the renovation.

Ana is so excited on the drive home. I have never seen her so happy.

We decide to have dinner sitting on the floor in the great room.

"So how did the dress shopping go," I ask her. "Did you get everything done?"

"Well after about twenty minutes of holding your mom while she cried and calming Mia down when it finally hit them that I was going to be their daughter and sister, we got it all done," she says and I can't help but shake my head at the two of them.

"I gave Andrea the guest list. She's going to revise it for us," I tell her.

"Oh thank God," she says wiping her brow and blowing out her breath dramatically.

She whips out her list and goes through it, checking things off.

"Okay," she finally says, biting her lower lip in concentration as she studies the list. "It looks like all we need now are the flowers."

"I'll take care of the flowers," I tell her as I kiss her neck. She pulls back and looks at me skeptically.

"Are you sure," she asks and I nod my head, "the bouquets and everything?"

"Yes, everything," I confirm. "Consider it handled."

I take her list, check off the flowers, and continue my sensual assault. I move up to her parted lips and slip my tongue inside, tasting her.

"Mmmm," she moans and moves her hands to grab hold of my hair, pulling me closer.

I begin to unzip her dress.

"What if someone walks in," she says.

"They won't," I whisper to her. I pull her dress and panties off and kiss my way back up to her lips. I free her from her bra and take one of her pretty pink nipples in my mouth. Her back arches to meet me as I suckle her.

The feel of her melting away next me gets me painfully hard. I go to unbutton my slacks but she stops me.

"Let me," she says. She gently pushes me back until I am lying flat on the floor.

She tugs off my slacks and underwear. She smiles up at me as she takes me full into her mouth.

"Oh yes, Ana…..fuck," I moan. The feel of her mouth around my dick is slowly driving me insane. She works me over as she cups my balls in her hands. I feel my dick hit the back of her throat and before I can warn her, I explode in her mouth.

"Oh Yess, Ana yess," I hiss out as she swallows me down. "You are too good at that, baby," I tell her after I regain control of myself.

"You taste really good," she whispers to me.

"Is that right," I tell ask her. She bites her lower lip and nods. "Well one good taste deserves another."

I gently flip her over and plunge my tongue in to her mouth. Sperm is not really my flavor, but her mouth can make anything taste good. She rips off my shirt, somewhere in the distance I hear the buttons hitting the floor. She tosses it over her head.

I settle myself between her open legs and spread the lips of her pussy. She is already so wet for me.

I smirk to myself as she impatiently lifts her hips up to meet my mouth.

She cries out as I flick her clit with the tip of my tongue. Unable to tease her any longer, I go to work. Sucking and flicking her clit, tasting her juices as they run into my mouth.

"Oh Christian," She moans as I slip a finger in her pussy as I lick her. Her clit is rock hard and I know she's about to come. My mouth and finger moves faster, sucking and working her over until she cries out as her orgasm overtakes her.

Her hips buck up and down as she rides her orgasm out. She stills herself and I still my movements. She squirms away from my mouth when I hit her overworked clit as I lick her clean.

"Mmmm, no baby," I begin to tell her. "You taste the best."

"Christian, please, I need you inside me," she begs for me. I make my way up her body. My lips meet hers again. I plunge my hard dick into her already soaked pussy. I bite down gently on her shoulder and I lift her legs high, pushing into her as deep and as fast as I can.

"Ohhh, yess," she moans and pants as she meets my thrust.

"Baby, you feel so good," I moan out.

Her orgasm steals mine, forcing me along. We both cum together, screaming out each other's names as we tumble into ecstasy.

I gather my strength, scoop her up and carry her to our bedroom.

"Oh, I love you, Christian," she moans, looking up at me, as I try to make her cum again.

One month before the wedding.

Ana and I are getting married in a month. Gone is my sweet fiancé and in her place is a woman who is stressed out beyond her limit. I fear that it has little to do with the actually wedding since the details of that have all been handled months ago.

"Mom, I think she's having second thoughts about marrying me," I confide in her as we have lunch in my office.

"Christian, that is absurd," she says to me. "Ana loves you. I must admit though, she's been a bit distant ever since she broke down at the cake tasting Saturday."

"I will never forgive myself for not thinking that the damn cake would trigger her memory, especially with her birthday coming up," I tell mom guiltily. "It took me hours to get her back after my fuck up."

"You couldn't have known," my mother tells me. "Ana didn't even know. She was so happy about picking out her wedding cake. It surprised her too. You remember what Nathan said? Sometimes there are hidden triggers, especially now that she's no longer blocking memories about her childhood. Having your mother murdered on your birthday can't be easy for her. We just have to handle things as they come."

…

After lunch with my mom, I work a few more hours before heading back to Escala. I've been working half days all this week because I am reluctant to leave Ana for long, but today Nathan wanted to spend some time alone with her.

"How is she," I ask him.

"She's doing better," he tells me as he points to a plate of chocolate chip cookies. I smile as I eat one. "She says her nightmares are back again."

"They are. What else did she tell you," I ask him. "Is she having second thoughts about marrying me? Am I the reason this is happening to her?

"Her mind is just allowing her to remember things that it wouldn't before. She doesn't feel the need to protect herself like she use to," he says. "I know you are worried about her being triggered more now, but it is progress. She is getting stronger. We just have to take it slow. Christian, the party you were planning for her birthday, you need to cancel it. I think it will set her back at this point. She'll have a hard time celebrating the day with a lot of people."

I want to take Ana on a getaway the week of her birthday to some place she can unwind. Nathan agrees that it will be a good idea, so we head down to Laguna Beach, California, to stay in Elliot's beach house. It is secluded and secure enough to where we won't need security to accompany us.

"Christian, this place is amazing," she says looking around the two story mediterranean style home. "Are you sure we should stay the whole week though? You have work and there is still a lot we need to do…."

"Sweetheart listen to me," I interrupt her. I am so tempted to just whisk her off to Vegas and be done with it. "You have to ease up a bit. Everything is under control."

"I know," she sighs.

"Ana, what's really wrong," I ask her. "Are you having second thoughts?"

"Yes," she says to me and my heart stops beating and shatters in my chest.

"You don't want to marry me anymore," I ask her, devastated.

"I don't think you should want to marry me, Christian," she tells me. "I think you're making a mistake."

"Baby, listen," I start but she interrupts me.

"No Christian," she says. "I thought with my dad and Elena gone, I would be okay, but I'm not. I'm still having nightmares every night and now I'm being triggered over a stupid slice of cake. I don't even know what to watch out for anymore. Do you really want to live the rest of your life like this with me?"

"Yes," I quickly yell out. "I want that more than anything else in the world. Ana, you're putting too much pressure on yourself."

"I don't want you to regret loving me one day Christian," she tells me. "I don't want you to wake up one day and realize that you've wasted your life on me. What happens if it gets worse? What happens if I end up like I was before? I will not be a burden to you."

"Anastasia Rose Steele, you are the love of my life," I tell her, grabbing hold of both of hers arms, forcing her to look at me. "You will never be a burden to me. You are talking to guy that wakes up from nightmares. I have my own demons to fight. Am I a burden to you?"

"Of course not," she says to me.

"We are in this together, you and me," I pull her into my arms. "I can't go through life without you Ana, it was meaningless before you. Please don't run away from me."

"I love you so much," she says holding me tight. "I just want what's best for you. I don't want to hurt you."

"Then marry me," I ask her.

"Yes," she says.

Ana and I spend the week connecting with one another. All communication with the outside world has been shut off with the exception of a single phone. Everyone was given strict orders to call only in an emergency. Of course Ana still needs to talk to her therapist, so she calls her freely and Nathan if she needs to.

We spend our time taking long walks on the private beach and lounging by the pool. Only venturing out on Ana's birthday. That morning I made her breakfast in bed. The pancakes and bacon weren't all that edible I admit, so I had some delivered to us.

I know you don't want to celebrate your birthday this year, but I couldn't help myself. I tell her handing her the birthday gift I got for her.

"Christian, you shouldn't have gotten me anything," she says to me.

I patiently wait while she opens her gift.

"Christian," she squeals as she lifts up the charm bracelet. Her delicate fingers trace each charm from the GEH office building, Charlie Tango, the peach pie she made the first time we had dinner with my family, the Ferris wheel, my Bentley, to her classic beetle.

"It's perfect," she says throwing her arms around me. "Thank you!"

"You know," I tell her as she holds out her wrist and I clasp the bracelet on. "Your real beetle is waiting for you back home."

"Are you serious," she asks in surprise and I nod

"Good as new," I tell her. Actually it's a thousand times better. I had that sucker gutted and overhauled. It has power everything from the seats to the steering. The only thing original on it is the frame and even that's been reinforced. "I know how much you loved it." I shrug. Why she loves it is beyond my comprehension.

"You are beyond believable," she says as she peppers me with kisses.

We spend the whole day with me being at her beck and call. She really took advantage of me, forcing me to give her multiple orgasms throughout the day. Thank God she is on the pill because I'd be bankrupt by now with buying condoms. I'd be lying if I said I didn't thoroughly enjoy myself. That night I took her out dinner and dancing. She really enjoyed it. She slept through the night without a nightmare for the first time in a week.

The next morning she finally opens up and tells me that her nightmares are about slipping so far that she has to be put back in the mental hospital.

"I don't want to lose myself again Christian," she says. "I don't want to ever go back to that place inside myself."

"Where do you go, Ana," I ask her.

"I go where it's dark and quiet. It used to feel safe, but now it scares me. I want to stay here with you."

"How did you get back the last time," I ask her.

"I knew you were waiting. I fought my way to you," she said.

"Then that's what you have to do," I tell her, taking her face in my hands. "Whenever you feel like you are going to go away. You fight. You fight for us, because I will always be waiting."

The week flies by and we spend our last night watching the sunset on the beach.

"I'm going to miss this place," Ana says. "Maybe we could just come here on our honeymoon."

"You like it that much," I ask her.

"I love it," she says. "It's like we are on our own little island."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it sweetheart," I tell her, kissing the top of her head. "We'll come back again soon."

We return to Escala and slowly Ana begins to find her footing and gain confidence in herself again. She is sleeping through the night.

Determining that she is finally strong enough, Nathan is now slowly exposing her to things that have triggered her in the past and he is helping her find new coping mechanisms.

…..

The night before the wedding.

"I can't believe we are actually spending the night apart. It is really the dumbest tradition I have ever heard of," I bitch to Elliot while we are in his apartment getting ready for my bachelor party.

He finally relented and allowed dad to throw it for me.

"It's only one night, bro and you'll never have to be apart again," he tells me slapping me on my back. "I can't believe that in less than twenty four hours, you are going to be married."

"Yes I am," I tell him. "Hey, I'm sorry I cut you off at the legs, but I just couldn't let you have her."

"What the hell are you talking about," he asks me confused.

"You were going to make a play for Ana," I remind him.

He laughs.

"No way," he says to me. "I knew you liked her. We all knew you liked her. Mom told me to tell you that so you would get off your ass and make a move. She really is a great girl little brother."

"Don't start getting sappy on me now," I tell him. "Come on dads waiting. Let's get this show on the road."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

...

Ana's POV

"I can't believe it," Mia says as she looks at her phone. She pulls us off the dance floor and we sit at a nearby booth. She and Grace have thrown me a Bachelorette party at the Mile High Club in downtown Seattle.

I'm feeling way too tipsy from my fourth shot of tequila and Grace is all out drunk. Only Mia seems to be making sense right now. "Dad has hired strippers for Christian's party!"

"Are you serious," I say, trying to sound serious but I just blew it with a giggle at the end. "How do you know?"

"Chase, just texted me, look," she holds up the photo of the strippers, one of them sitting half dressed on Carrick's lap.

"Well," Grace says pissed off, "I say we crash it." She lifts up her shot glass to us and tries to drink it but Mia takes it away and downs it herself.

"Mom, you're drunk," Mia says to her. "We can't just bail on everyone."

"Let's take em with us," Grace slurs.

We leave the club and about forty girls including, Hunt's fiancé, Robin, pack in the party bus that brought us. We make our way to Elliot's condo a few streets over.

...

Christian's POV

Fucking Elliot and his Goddamn strippers! 

"I thought you agreed to let dad plan this," I tell him after I just tossed one half naked woman off of my lap.

"I did," Elliot says looking just as shocked as I am.

We both look over at dad. He has a noise maker twirling it over his head to the music, as a stripper shimmies her barely covered cleavage in his face.

"Yeah, geriatric my ass," I laugh at Elliot.

My face turns stone white when I see a gaggle of girls enter the apartment and three of them being Mom, Mia, and Ana.

"Shit, red alert," I yell to dad. But it's too late. He is already drowning in a large pitcher of mojitos that mom just poured over his head. She gives a look to the stripper and the poor girl takes off.

Elliot is left howling on the floor in laughter as I go over to Ana, trying to get myself out of hot water.

"Baby, I swear I had nothing to do with it," I tell her with my hands up in surrender.

She grabs me, and pulls me into a searing kiss that makes me moan.

"Let's party," she says.

...

Elliot's apartment is shoulder to shoulder with people, so we move the party outside to the area by the pool. I think half the people in his damn apartment building show up outside to join in.

He really did it, Is my only thought as a huge wedding cake gets wheeled out in the middle of the yard. Music starts to play and I just about die when Grandmother Trevelyan pops out with her Marylyn Monroe type party dress on and a Miss America type sash draped across her chest.

She shakes and shimmies as the crowd cheers her on.

My mother hides behind my dad in shame. The rest of us are crying from laughing so hard. Mia takes a picture of me and Elliot as we run over and kiss her cheeks. She and Grandpa Trevelyan congratulate Ana and me once again and join the party.

….

Three hours before the wedding.

"Did you have a good time at the party, sweetheart," I ask Ana as I lay in our big lonely bed by myself.

"The best time, from what all I can remember," she laughs.

"How's your hangover," I ask her.

"It's good, your mom doped me up pretty good, so I'm okay," she tells me.

"In less than three hours you are going to be all mine," I tell her.

"I'm already all yours," she says to me.

"No more doubts," I ask her.

"None," she says. "I'll see you in a few hours."

"Yes, you will," I tell her. "I love you."

…..

"How do I look," I ask my dad and Elliot as I smooth down the breast of my navy blue tuxedo.

"Like a million bucks," my dad says.

"Yeah that's probably how much the damn thing cost," Elliot says smiling.

"I still can't believe it," my dad starts getting teary eyed looking at me. "I've never been so proud to be a man's father, as I am today, son."

"Hey, I am standing right here," Elliot says to Dad, pretending to be hurt.

"Oh now come on, let your brother have his moment," dad teases. "You'll get the same speech when you get married."

"Well I'm never going to hear it then," Elliot says. "No way am I ever getting married. It's too many of them out there. I can't settle for just one."

"You will, when you find the right one," my dad tells him and I have to agree.

Elliot looks at us skeptically.

We make our way to my parent's home in Bellevue.

Ana and I decided to have the wedding on the back lawn facing the sound if the weather holds. If not we can easily move it to inside the tent where the reception is being held.

Mia and my mom have both been instructed to keep Ana in her room on the other side of house. I don't want her stressing about what everything looks like this close to us getting married.

I arrive a bit early, just to make sure everything is in place.

The flowers I picked out for the wedding and the reception are being set up as we speak. I give mom her corsage and she carries the bouquets up to the bridesmaids. I ask her to give Ana her bouquet in private and I've included a little note for her to read.

...

Ana's POV

Grace has given me my bridal bouquet with the strict instructions that I am to read the note Christian wrote me first.

I don't know why I'm nervous about reading it. I take a deep breath and open the letter.

My Dearest Ana,

Today you will make me the happiest man in the world when you become my wife. I know that above anything else, you wish your mother was here to share in this day with you. I wish with everything I am that I could give that to you. This morning I visited her. I took a single flower from your bouquet and placed it on her grave. The rest I give to you to carry, so you will know that on your special day, she is sharing it with you.

Yours, forever and always,

Christian.

I open up the box that contains my bouquet and dissolve in a heap of tears on my bed.

"Oh no, Mom come quickly," Mia yells out, as she enters the room and sees me upset.

Not only does Grace appear, but Hunt rush's into the room to see what the matter is.

I point to the flowers and they all swing their heads to look in the box.

"Sunflowers," Mia said excited. "But they are so beautiful, don't you like them?"

"I love them," I tell her trying to get myself under control.

"They're our mother's favorite," Hunt explains.

"Oohh," Grace and Mia say together, in understanding. They hug me and give me a moment alone with my brother.

"Are you okay Peanut," Hunt asks me. "I am wonderful. They are happy tears."

"Well, keeping with the theme of things," he says. "I wanted to give you this."

I take the small box from his hand and open it.

It is a delicate silver locket inscribed with the words "I love you to the moon and back."

I look at Hunt and frown in confusion. No way is this his style.

"It was in the box of mom's things. I took it out before I mailed it," he explains and I look at it again. "It was you birthday present from her."

"I remember now," I tell him. "I begged her to buy me one."

"I was with her when she went to pick it out," he says. "She had them inscribe it for you. She didn't put anything inside. She wanted the two of you to do it together."

"Will you help me put it on," I ask him.

"Sure," he says and clasps it around my neck. "Beautiful."

…

Grace and Mia come in to help me get into my wedding dress. It is a simple strapless white dress, trimmed in navy blue, with a navy blue train.

"Oh Ana," Grace begins to cry. "You are truly beautiful. I can't believe you are marrying my son. I always knew that if I could ever get you two together you would hit it off, but I never thought it would happen. Oh I am so happy he's found you. You have been so good for him."

"He's been good for me too," I tell her. "I don't know what I would do without him. I am so grateful to you both for accepting me the way that you have."

"Oh my dear, you were part of the family from the beginning," Grace says to me and Mia nods her head through her tears.

"Oh jeez, it looks like I got here just in time Steele," Kate Kavanagh says to me upon entering the room and seeing the blubber fest.

"Kate," I shout out to her. "I didn't think you would make it."

"Are you kidding," she says. "It's not every day you get married."

….

I look through the small patio door window out into the lawn. All I see is a sea of navy blue bride's maid's dresses walking down the aisle, each one carrying a sunflower bouquet. Mia, my maid of honor is last. Robin is before her and the rest are friends I've made through the years working on my charity projects.

Once they have cleared the aisle, I spot Christian, waiting impatiently. He looks like he's about to pass out from anxiety. Good thing Elliot is beside him keeping him somewhat calm.

I take a deep breath and hold on to Hunter's arm a bit tighter.

"Are you ready to give me away," I say to him before we step out on the lawn and walk down the aisle.

"No, Peanut," he says sadly. "I don't think I'll ever be ready."

"I'll always be your baby sister," I tell him and he smiles proudly at me.

Christian is the first to spot me. He beams at me and I can see he is trying hard to hold his emotions in check. If he had his way he would rush the aisle and carry me down himself.

The whole crowd stands and I am now the center of attention. Christian chuckles and I know it must be because I have that deer in the headlights look he loves so much.

I take a deep breath and relax. I have my brother's arm, my mother's locket and bouquet, and all of my famliy and friends. I have never felt so loved. I have never been so happy.

"Oh My God You Are So Beautiful," I hear Olivia whisper loudly. Barney shushes her. I laugh a little and I wink at them as I pass by.

We say our vows and the minister asks for the rings. Christian nearly faints when he realizes that he completely forgot about the rings.

"My one job," he mutters to himself.

"I got your back bro," Elliot says to him as he saves the day and hands him the rings.

The weather, which had been threatening rain all day, suddenly opens up into glorious sunshine when he slips the ring on my finger.

"Someone up there must approve," he says to me and I nod as I slip his ring on his finger.

The crowd erupts with applause as we kiss and walk back down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Christian Grey.

…

The Reception

Christian and I make our way over to the closed tent that holds our wedding reception.

"Christian, the flowers are beautiful." I tell him as I take a look at the huge arrangements of sunflowers, roses, and wild flowers for the first time.

"I love them," I tell him. "I love you, Husband."

"I love you, so much, Wife."

The band starts to play and he leads me to the dance floor for our first dance.

"You have made me so happy," he says.

Everyone else seems to disappear as he takes me in his arm.

"I'm the one that's happy," I tell him.

"Say it again," he whispers to me.

"I'm happy," I tell him with no hesitation. "I am so very happy."

…..

Half way through dinner, Elliot clinks his champagne flute to get everyone's attention for his best man speech.

We listen intently as he mostly pokes fun at Christian and I, telling everyone the peach pie story and our first go round on the Ferris wheel. But then he goes and does something so un-Elliot like that it brings his brother to tears.

"Christian," he turns to him. "I don't remember a time when I didn't love you, but I remember a time when you didn't love yourself very much. I know you've been hurt bad, I could never understand the reason for it. But now I do. It was to show you what real love looks like, so you wouldn't miss it when it came your way. Ana, thank you for loving my brother. Believe me I know it's not easy."

He pauses because everyone laughs.

"But I have never seen a man more in love and more dedicated to a woman the way my brother is to you, the way you are to each other. I give you this gift for whenever you feel like you need an escape from all of us in this loopy ole world."

He hands an envelope to Christian and he opens it up to find Elliot has given us the house in Laguna Beach.

….

We head over to our wedding cake. Christian takes my hand and holds it tight and I know he is thinking about my break down the last time I came face to face with a celebration cake. He needn't worry. Nothing can ruin this day for us.

The largest tier on the cake is chocolate because I know how much Christian loves it. It's also the flavor of the top tier that we will traditionally save for our one year anniversary, although we forgo the tradition of smashing the cake in each other's faces.

The MC of the evening calls for me to toss my wedding bouquet and I am dead set against it. There is no way I'm letting anyone else have it. But my ever thoughtful husband has made another bouquet for me to toss.

Among the single women, I see, Olivia, Kate, Mia, Mrs. Jones, and even Robin since she's not married to my brother yet, line up to catch the bouquet. Secretly, I want Mrs. Jones to catch the bouquet so that it will light a fire under Taylor's ass to make an honest woman of her. I turn my back to them, close my eyes and toss it behind me.

I quickly turn back to see them all scrambling around. Finally Kate holds it high in her hands and I laugh because I know how competitive she is. I'm sure she's elbowed a few of the other girls out of the way just to get it, even though she swears she is never getting married.

Elliot's POV

HO-LEE SHIT! I THINK I'M IN LOVE.

I have to meet her, is my only thought as love at first sight, hits me hard. I beeline to where my blonde goddess is now standing. She is looking at the bouquet she just so rudely knocked my sister out of the way to get.

I accidently bump into her on purpose.

"Sorry about that," I tell her. "I really should watch where I'm going."

"No harm done," she says to me. Her voice is like an angel singing. "I'm Elliot Grey, Christian's brother."

I hold out my hand for her to shake.

"I'm Kate, Ana's friend," she tells me, shaking my hand.

"I haven't seen you around before, Kate Ana's Friend." I tell her, now refusing to let go of her hand.

"I just moved here from Boston," she says to me, struggling to get her hand back.

I tip my chin to point at the bouquet.

"That's a sign," I tell her.

"What is," she says to me.

"That you are meant to be my wife," I tell her seriously. "Marry me?"

I bend down to kiss her hand and she snatches it away before it touches my lips.

"In your dreams, Blondie," she says to me, then walks away in a huff.

"Oooooo shot you down hard," Christian comes up and pats me on my back. "I can still see the flames."

"Oh how little you know, baby brother," I tell him. I point to Kate who is now standing with Ana and shooting daggers at me. "That right there is the future Mrs. Elliot Grey."

"Dream on, Lelliot," he tells me and I laugh.

…..

Three Years Later

Anastasia's POV

"I am bored," I say to Christian when he picks up his cell phone on the second ring. "Why can't I just pop into the bakery for a minute. I promise I won't work too much."

"Absolutely not, Mrs. Grey," he tells me. "You are officially on maternity leave."

"Maternity leave sucks," I tell him. "I'm only five months along."

"I don't care," he says to me sternly. "Now has Gail finished helping you pack?"

"She has," I tell him. "I am all set to go. I bet she and that husband of hers is going to love having Escala all to themselves for the next three months."

"Yeah, well," he begins. "I told Taylor to keep him and all of his body parts out of the main areas."

"Ewww," I say to him. He laughs at me and I hang up the phone.

Christian's POV

"Ewww," she said. Now why doesn't she feel that way when we do it?

I sit at my desk at GEH and smile when I think about my life the last three years. I swear the marriage bug has infected everyone close to us. First Nathan and Robin got married two months after Ana and I did. They now have a little two year old boy, Nathan Jr. He has big blue eyes like Ana and red hair like his mother.

A year ago Taylor and Gail got married after she had a cancer scare. It was caught early and she is doing just fine, but it scared the shit out of Taylor. I've never seen the man so broken.

But the big shocker is Kate and Elliot. I swear that girl is the female version of Elliot and she has completely tamed him. The night of our wedding, they got together and they have been inseparable ever since. Kate had a real fear of marriage. Her parent's marriage was a disaster, filled with infidelity and physical abuse. She promised herself she would forever stay single. But damn if my brother didn't go and make her his wife. It took him a year and a half to do it, but he finally got her past her fear and made her realized he wasn't ever going to hurt her. They just called us with the news this morning. They are two months pregnant.

….

My beautiful wife has bought so much joy in my life. Three month after we got back from our European honeymoon, she had a grand opening for her bakery, The Gingerbread House. It is extremely successful and most importantly, she did it on her own without the Grey House name or umbrella. Elliot is now working on its expansion project.

Mia went to Paris for a year to study culinary arts and she is now the owner of her own restaurant, Grey House Cuisine. Of course The Gingerbread House supplies her with all of her pastries and deserts. She and her boyfriend Chase are pretty hot and heavy. My dad is expecting him to request to talk any day now.

Soon after we were married, Ana made a decision to never let her past rule her again. She worked her ass off in therapy, having break through after break through. She learned new coping mechanisms. Her favorite is writing a journal about her mother and her own pregnancy. She and Nathan took a drive to their old house and went to her mother's old bakery. That was extremely hard for both of them, but it helped Ana find the closure that she so desperately needed.

Now, since Ana has been given the okay to fly, we are going down to Laguna Beach for three months. She has been working herself ragged and her Doctor, gave her strict orders to rest. We are five months pregnant with our son Theodore Nathan Grey. We had been trying for only a month when she surprised me with the news. I couldn't believe it. She blames it on my 'super sperm.'

…..

"How is my baby boy doing" I ask Ana.

"He's hungry," she says to me.

"Dinner will be here soon, son," I bend down and talk to her protruding belly. God she is the most breath taking pregnant woman I have ever seen. She thought I would turn away from her as her body changed, but I marvel at the changes, watching our son as he grows healthy and strong inside of her.

"I could get use to this," Ana says, as I hand her another watered down virgin lime marguerite.

I lie back on the lounge chair next to her and nurse my gin and tonic. I can't thank Elliot enough for giving us this place. I remember how I sung its praises the day Ana and I got back from her birthday trip. I had no idea he was going to give it to us for our wedding present. When he got married to Kate, Ana and I wondered if he would want it back, considering it's a good place for a couples retreat. I broached the subject, but he wanted nothing to do with it. Little did I know that little sneak not only had this property, but the two on either side of us, covering the whole damn city block.

"Hey, when I say privacy I mean privacy," was his only explanation. He kept the house on the right of us for himself and gifted the one on our left to Mia.

….

Three Months Later

At 12:45am, I was woken up with five little words that turned my world upside down:

"Christian, my water just broke," Ana says.

"What," I say to her. I am amazed at how quickly I just jumped up out of a sound sleep. "But, we are supposed to have three more weeks."

"Your son apparently has no sense of time," she grits out.

"Shit," I say as I begin to haul ass. I bellow for Taylor and Gail.

Thank fuck they came down yesterday to help us pack up and drive back to Seattle. I didn't want to take the risk of Ana flying again, so Taylor rented a camper and came down to help me drive back. I wanted Ana to have plenty of room to stretch out. Otherwise, we would be making frequent stops along the way. I also wanted to be able to focus on giving Ana what she needed.

I can't imagine being here alone with this right now. It's taking all I have not to panic Ana, who, to my surprise, is extremely calm.

Taylor gets us to the maternity ward while Gail stays behind to call and let everyone know.

As the afternoon breaks, our family stats to trickle in. My parents, along with Mia, Chase, Nathan, Robin and Nate Jr. all fly down on the jet. Kate and Elliot came along later since they had to drive down, even though it was still safe for her to fly. I swear Elliot is more of a worrier than I am. They discovered that they are in fact pregnant with twins. I will never get over the sight of Kate waddling around, carring my little neices or nephews. Elliot couldn't be happier. It's hard to believe that this is the same guy who told Dad and me on my wedding day that he would never settle down.

After sixteen hours of being in labor, Theodore Nathan Grey yelled his arrival to the world. And boy does he have a set of lungs on him. He is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. He has Ana's clear blue eyes and downy soft copper colored hair.

…..

Two years later

Ana and I are now in the living room of our house on the sound. We soon discovered after Teddy started walking that Escala wasn't the place we wanted to raise him. We wanted him to have room outside to run and play.

Everyone is here celebrating his second birthday today. Grandma and Grandpa Treyvelan arrive with a toy store in their arms, for not only Teddy, but for every kid here since they can never keep track of whos birthday it actually is.

While the kids run wild, Mom is busy lecturing her parents for always spoiling them with way too many toys. I smirk at her because I just gave her that same lecture an hour before everyone arrived.

Elliot and Kate, who are running around chasing the kids, have a little two year old girl and boy named Ava Eloise Grey and Aaron Elliot Grey.

Mia and Chase have disappeared somewhere. They have been married for a little over a year and they are expecting their first child in a few months.

We all laugh at four year old Nate Jr. and Taylor's ten year old daughter, Sophie as they try to keep the rambunctious brood of toddlers in order. They both are so serious. They remind me so much of their parents. With their help, we finally pin them all down long enough to sing happy birthday and have some cake and ice cream.

I take Ana in my arms and shake my head. The cake is now everywhere but in their mouths as they begin to throw it at each other.

My mother, Mia, Robin, and Kate are busy trying to clean them all up while my dad is snapping pictures. Elliot is as dirty as the kids are being the one who started the food fight.

"Well two years down," Ana say to me, as she plays with the silver locket she wears around her neck. "And we are still alive."

"Aw, baby this parenting stuff is easy," I tell her kissing her cheek. "I can do this a hundred times over."

"Well I don't know about a hundred times," she tells me, "but we are going to do it one more time for sure."

I look at her and frown. It takes me a minute for what she said to sink in.

"Ana are we…" I ask her and she nods her head.

"I'm eight weeks," she whispers. "It looks like you are going to have to add another charm to my bracelet," She says holding her wrist up.

"God, I love you, Mrs. Grey." I tell her holding her in my arms.

"I love you too, Mr. Grey," she tells me.

"Bro, you are not going to believe what Kate just told me," Elliot says after Ana walks away.

"She told Kate before me," I say in disbelief.

"What," he asks in confusion.

"Ana's pregnant," I tell him.

"So is Kate," he tells me in surprise.

We look over at Ana, Kate, and Robin as they huddle with Mia over in the corner. Nathan comes up to join us with a big goofy grin on his face.

The girls erupt with laughter as each one holds their own bellies.

"Robin too," I ask Nathan and he nods.

Here we go again!  
THE END!


End file.
